Croatian Nursing Journal, Vol. 4 No. 2, 2020.
Pregledni rad
https://doi.org/10.24141/2/4/2/7
An Overview of Fall Prevention Strategies Among Adult Patients in Hospital Settings
Mladen Jurišković
orcid.org/0000-0002-2871-9805
; Division of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia; University of Applied Health Sciences, Zagreb, Croatia
Martina Smrekar
; University of Applied Health Sciences, Zagreb, Croatia
Sažetak
Falls present a major challenge for health care systems: they correlate with poor patient outcomes, extend the length of hospitalization, and increase overall medical expenditure. According to existing literature, risk factors for the occurrence of falls include the male gender, urinary incontinence, muscle weakness, agitation or confusion, and dementia. Studies have shown that the combined practice of identifying risk factors and implementing appropriate fall prevention interventions leads to a reduction in the incidence of falls among hospital patients. As the largest group of health professionals committed to providing high-quality care, nurses play an important role in preventing falls among patient populations. In order to prevent falls and maintain patient safety, it is important to identify the most effective strategies for fall prevention. This study presents an overview of previously published strategies and intervention practices on fall prevention in hospital settings around the world. The most common interventions include fall risk assessment, environment/equipment modifications, patient education/family education on fall prevention interventions, staff education on fall reporting and fall prevention, fall risk alerts, medication management, physical fitness of patients, assistance with transfer and toileting and effective team communication and leadership. Ultimately, it is incumbent upon nurses, other health-care professionals and the entire hospital system to develop effective strategies in order to prevent falls among hospitalised patients.
Ključne riječi
falls; fall prevention strategies; intervention; patient; nurses
Hrčak ID:
247686
URI
Datum izdavanja:
11.12.2020.
Posjeta: 1.275 *