Knowledge, attitudes on falls and awareness of hospitalized patient's fall risk factors among the nurses working in Tertiary Care Hospitals

Abstract

<abstract><sec> <title>Background</title> <p>Fall is the most common patient safety incident in health care organizations. This study was initiated to obtain information regarding knowledge & attitude on falls and awareness of fall risk factors among nurses to device evidence-based and multidisciplinary educational and training programs to improve patient safety and thereby reduce morbidity and mortality associated with falls.</p> </sec><sec> <title>Methods</title> <p>A descriptive cross-sectional survey study was conducted among 339 registered nurses working in Tertiary care hospitals across Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. A modified version of the previously validated standard questionnaire was administered by the investigators through an online survey method to explore the level of knowledge & attitude on falls and awareness of inpatient fall risk factors among Nurses.</p> </sec><sec> <title>Results</title> <p>In this study, 15.6% of participants had adequate knowledge of falls, 57.2% had a favorable attitude towards falls and 38.3% had adequate awareness of fall risk factors. Years of experience in nursing has a statistically significant association with the level of knowledge on fall. The participant's attitude towards falls had a statistically significant relationship with age, education, experience in nursing, and previous patient fall experience. The correlation between fall knowledge, the attitude toward falls, and awareness of fall risk factors were highly significant. The majority of the participants expressed their favorable attitude toward the need for fall preventive education.</p> </sec><sec> <title>Conclusion</title> <p>In our study, it is evident that there is a void that has to be filled to improve the knowledge, attitude, and awareness of falls and their risk factors. There is a need for extensive education and holistic, multifactorial, and interdisciplinary training program to be undertaken through various health care organizations.</p> </sec></abstract>