Fall Prevention Intervention Reduces Falls in Hospitals
Posted by: Michael Neff
November 23, 2010
Topic: Trips, Slips and Falls
According to the American Medical Association, a recent study found that hospitals reduced the number of patient falls by implementing a "fall prevention intervention" which included risk assessment, patient-specific prevention plans, an educational handout and poster for patients.
"Falls are a public health problem worldwide. Hospitalization increases fall risk because of the unfamiliar environment, illnesses, and treatments. Patient falls and fall-related injuries are devastating to patients, clinicians, and the health care system. A single fall may result in a fear of falling and begin a downward spiral of reduced mobility, leading to loss of function and greater risk of falls. Older adults are more likely to be injured from a fall. Injurious falls increase hospital costs and lengths of stay," reported the authors of the study.
The research team followed 10,200+ patients in four urban hospitals in the U.S. They found that the fall prevention intervention could potentially prevent 1 fall every 4 days, 7.5 falls every month, and 90 falls every year in the U.S. They also found that the intervention was most effective for older patients and did not have an effect on younger patients.
"Because patient falls in hospitals are a major risk factor for fractures and other injuries, reducing falls is an important first step toward injury prevention, and any reduction in patient falls has clinical significance," concluded the authors.
If you have been injured from a fall in a hospital due to negligence, you may be entitled to legal recovery. To learn about your rights, call Georgia slip and fall attorney Michael Lawson Neff at 1-888-301-9298.
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Trips, Slips and Falls
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