Factors associated with falls in an inpatient palliative care unit: an exploratory study

In one inpatient palliative care unit falls were identified as a frequent and distressing, yet potentially avoidable, concern. The unit had the highest rate of falls in this long-term care setting, exceeding even that of dementia care units. No literature could be identified that examined falls in the palliative care population. The objective of the exploratory study was to examine factors associated with falls through retrospective archival data collection. Detailed information was collected on all 177 falls that occurred in the unit in 1999. Data were also gathered on patients who had not fallen for comparison. Analysis was conducted comparing risk factors of those patients who fell once and those who fell multiple times. It was found that advanced age, longer length of stay and a previous history of falls might be risk factors for future falls. Patients who fell multiple times had less symptom distress than patients who fell once.