Kontakt 2020, 22(2):79-84 | DOI: 10.32725/kont.2019.055

The efficiency of the patient fall prevention programme in selected medical institutionsNursing - Original article

Iva Brabcová^1,*, Hana Hajduchová¹, Valérie Tóthová¹, Sylva Bártlová¹, Martin Doseděl², Josef Malý², Aleš Kuběna², Jiří Vlček², Andrea Botíková³

¹ University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Institute of Nursing, Midwifery and Emergency Care, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

² Charles University, Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové, Department of Social and Clinical Pharmacy, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic

³ Trnava University, Faculty of Health Care and Social Work, Department of Nursing Care, Trnava, Slovak Republic

Introduction: Patient falls are frequent unwanted events. Hospital managements have the important task of implementing an efficient programme of patient fall prevention - which is complex, multifactorial and highly individualized. The goal of this research was to assess the efficiency of the implemented fall prevention programme in selected South-Bohemian hospitals.

Methods: This is an epidemiological, observational and interventional study. In 2018, 16 departments in 4 South-Bohemian hospitals implemented the intervention programme - the aim of which was to minimize risk factors of patient falls. All patients were included in the programme during the monitored period at selected workplaces. In 2017, 24,379 patients were included, and in 2018 there were 25,773 patients. We then monitored the efficiency of the implemented interventions. We assessed the differences between the incidence of falls in 2017 before the implementation of the intervention programme and the incidence of falls in 2018 during the realization of the programme. The fall index was set to the number of falls of 1,000 patients and the number of fall injuries during 1,000 days in hospital.

Results: After the implementation of the prevention programme, the decrease in the number of falls was recorded at the departments of subsequent and rehabilitation care (from 39.12 to 30.9 falls/1,000 patients and from 0.79 to 0.58 falls with injuries/1,000 hospital days), departments of surgery (from 5.88 to 5.78 falls/1,000 patients and from 0.98 to 0.59 falls with injuries/1,000 hospital days) and the department of psychiatry (from 14.27 to 7.48 falls/1,000 patients and from 0.58 to 0.23 falls with injuries/1,000 hospital days). On the contrary, a higher fall index of falls was confirmed at internal departments (from 8.54 to 10.4 falls/1,000 patients and from 1.22 to 1.63 falls with injuries/1,000 hospital days).

Conclusions: The fall monitoring and the root analysis of their causes enable the managements of medical institutions to establish efficient remedial and preventative measures that decrease the incidence of falls and minimize their consequences.

Keywords: Falls; Index; Intervention; Patients; Prevention; Risk

Received: August 27, 2019; Revised: October 5, 2019; Accepted: November 6, 2019; Prepublished online: December 13, 2019; Published: May 6, 2020  Show citation