Why do Patients in Acute Care Hospitals Fall? Can Falls Be Prevented? – Qualitative Study
Patient falls are a serious problem in acute care hospitals. In determining the reasons why patients fall, this research obtained the views of nurses and assistants. This is a qualitative research because it is an exploratory research used to gain the underlying opinions and views from nurses and assistants. The hypothesis of the study was that patients in acute care hospitals fall because of their severe medical condition and can be prevented through the use of various endeavors.
The study was carried out through the use of 4 focus groups with a sample size of 23 and 4 assistants with a sample size of 19. Interviews were carried in a focus style group with 3 to 10 nurses per group. All focus groups had a set of preplanned questions that were used for clarification and understanding the reason for falls in acute care hospitals. The study was carried out in a healthcare setting where it was easy to obtain the views of nurses and assistants.
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Findings from the study found that one of the reasons patients fell is that they did not know how to access the required equipment such as the walker or an environmental clutter. The study concluded that patient falls can be prevented through the use of an adequate patient care plan that teaches patients on the need and how to use the required equipment (Benoit et al., 2009).
Fall Prevention in an Acute Care Hospital- Quantitative Study
The study involves determining whether the fall prevention tool kit (FPTK) using health information technology (HIT) decreases patient falls. This is a type of quantitative study because it identifies the number of patient falls and identifies the reduction in number with the use of the fall prevention toolkit. The research question was whether the FPTK would decrease patient falls or not.
The study was carried out through a cluster randomized study conducted for six months. The study compared the fall rates of 4 urban US hospitals units which received usual care with 5,104 patients. The results were compared with the intervention by the FPTK in 4 units that had 5,160 patients. The study was carried out in a healthcare setting where it was possible to access patients that would use the intervention.
The results from the study found that the use of the FPTK can prevent 1 Fall every 4 days and 90 falls every year. The use of the tool was found to be effective for patients that were 65 years and older. The conclusion of the study was that the fall prevention toolkit should be applied to hospital units to prevent the rate of falls (Dykes et al., 2010).
References
Benoit, A., D. L., Hurley, A. C., & Middleton, B. (2009). Why do patients in acute care hospitals fall? Can falls be prevented? The Journal of nursing administration , 39 (6), 299. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3107706/
Dykes, P. C., Carroll, D. L., Lipsitz, S., A., Chang, F., & Middleton, B. (2010). Fall prevention in acute care hospitals: a randomized trial. Jama , 304 (17), 1912-1918. Retrieved from https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/186836
