Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

PREVENTING FALLS in Acute Care: An Innovative Approach

2005; Slack Incorporated (United States); Volume: 31; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3928/0098-9134-20050301-07

1938-243X

Annie McCarter-Bayer, Fred Bayer, Kathleen Hall,

Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery

ABSTRACT Falls among elderly individuals have been significant sources of disability and death. Falls have affected as many as 10% of older adurtsduring an acute care inpatient stay. The acute care environment has contributed to elderly patient falls. Additionally, manifestations of acute illness, porypharmacy, and medication side effects have been risk factors for falls in the acute care setting. Individualized fall prevention strategies, initial patient assessments, and ongoing patient reassessments have been linked to a decrease in falls in the acute care setting. Approaches to fall prevention have included identification of high-risk patients, communication among staff and family members about an individual's risk of falls, and both case-specific and universal interventions for fall prevention. The purpose of this article is to describe a fall prevention program instituted in an acute care setting in southern Arizona that has produced encouraging results. Moreover, this article addresses individualizing interventions through a continuous clinical feedback loop, which provides patient care areas with relevant information about their patients who fell and recommendations for improving fall prevention.