Fall prevention in acute care hospitals: a randomized trial

Source: JAMA, 2010, 304(17), p. 1912 – 1918.

Follow this link for the abstract

Date of publication: November 2010

Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: This randomised controlled trial set out to determine whether a fall prevention toolkit utilising health information technology reduced patient falls. The trial compared patient fall rates at four US hospitals comprising of 5160 patients who received the intervention compared to 5104 patients who received standard care. The Morse Falls Scale formed the basis of the fall prevention toolkit and was refined further through staff consultation and findings from the literature. The resulting software tailored  interventions to address patients’ specific determinants of fall risk and produced bed posters, patient information leaflets and care plans to alert staff and other stakeholders to falls risk among patients. The study found significantly fewer patients fell in the intervention group compared to the control group whilst the toolkit was found to be particularly effective for patients aged 65 or older.  

Length of publication: 7 pages

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library.