A study on the relationship between age and inpatient falls in Taiwan

Falls are the most frequently reported adverse hospital events. How to prevent inpatients from falling has become an important issue of patient safety in hospitals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between age and inpatient falls. A retrospective study design was used. This study, which extracted information from fall-related incident reports, enrolled patients who had fallen during hospitalization in Taiwan. Of the 221 falls evaluated, 63.8% had occurred under companion care, 98.2% of patients had fallen once and most fall-related injuries were minor (46.6%). Falls occurred most frequently when patients were going to the toilet, walking and being moved. There were significant correlations with age groups and fall-related factors (P = 0.000; P < 0.05), the presence/absence of a companion (P = 0.022, P < 0.05), the situation of falls (P = 0.000; P < 0.05), and fall-related injuries (P = 0.000, P < 0.05). Preventive interventions related to falls should vary for different age groups.