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Published on: September 30, 2020
Using Functional Ability Measures to Assess Fall Risk in Acute Care
Alaina M Bassett1, Ka-Chun Siu2, Julie A Honaker3
1Department of Otolaryngology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern Californian, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Abstract:
Currently, it is not known whether integration of functional performance measures is sensitive and feasible for use in acute care settings. This cross-sectional study explored the subjective and objective measures of the risks of falling, falls efficacy, and functional abilities for inpatients in an adult acute care unit. The Morse Fall Scale (n = 30) and Timed Up and Go (TUG; n = 10) had excellent sensitivity (100%) for identifying participants with prior fall histories, while the St. Thomas Risk Assessment Tool in Falling Elderly Inpatients only had good sensitivity (87.5%). Study findings suggest that implementation of feasible functional ability measures in conjunction with subjective fall risk measures could enhance accuracy and performance in identifying inpatient risks of falling in acute care settings.
