Abstract
(1) Background: This study aimed to test the feasibility of utilizing the screening tool for fall risk assessment in adult inpatient and verify its accuracy in a medical center in Taiwan. (2) Methods: This study retrospectively collected all adult fall cases among inpatients occurring in the general wards of a medical center between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2015. This inpatient fall risk screening scale was measured by the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. (3) Results: There were 1331 (0.4%) falls among a total of 357,395 inpatients during this period. Factors predictive of falling risk included: age, consciousness, body shift assistance, use of fall risk medications, fall history, dizziness or weakness, toileting, and impaired mobility. Using the eight-factor assessment, two was the best cutoff point for identifying the fall risk group, with area under Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) = 0.817, sensitivity = 80.93%, specificity = 73.0%, accuracy = 73.03%, and likelihood ratio = 11.48. (4) Conclusions: The accuracy of the eight-item fall risk assessment tool created for this study was validated. These results can serve as a reference for institutions to develop more effective fall risk assessment scale for inpatients, enabling clinical nurses to identify and more comprehensively assess the groups at highest risk for falling during their hospital stay.
Highlights
Accepted: 8 March 2022According to Joint Commission of Taiwan, prevention of patient fall is one of the national patient safety goals [1]
Research data downloaded from the HIS (Hospital Information System) in this research hospital included the correlation between inpatient falling and fall risk assessment as well as the correlation between inpatient falls and patient’s health evaluation results
The fall risk factors included in this new tool included “age”, “consciousness”, “body shift assistance”, “use of fall risk medications”, “fall history”, “dizziness or weakness”, “toileting”, and “impaired mobility”
Summary
According to Joint Commission of Taiwan, prevention of patient fall is one of the national patient safety goals [1]. Surveys reveal that inpatient falls are the third most frequently occurring of all hospital accidents [2]. Inpatient falls may not cause injuries, but in severe cases, they can lead to serious complications, prolong the length of hospital stays, and increase the costs of medical care [3,4]. Commission has been advocating patient-centered care since 1999 to promote patient safety. In 2007, the U.S Joint Commission recommended that all medical institutions establish a standard assessment program for reducing patient falls, regularly re-evaluate patients’. Risk of falling, and take measures to prevent falls and improve their track records [5].
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