Fall risk assessment of hospitalized adults and follow-up study

One-hundred seventy-seven randomly selected hospitalized adult patients were assessed for their risk of falls by 24 registered nurses (RNs). Twelve specific indices of fall risk assessment were studied. Patients' scores on three separate fall risk-assessment scales also were calculated. Only one of the fall risk-assessment scale scores was significantly associated with documented implementation of the hospital fall prevention protocol. A follow-up study of most of these patients' medical records by seven RNs resulted in seven patients being found to have had at least one documented inpatient fall. These findings demonstrate the importance of: (1) further identifying and defining indices of fall risk assessment, (2) investing staff energy and resources in a comprehensive program of education and fall prevention, and (3) identifying intervention strategies that can be documented to prevent inpatient falls.