Using Functional Ability Measures to Assess Fall Risk in Acute Care.

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Clinical Nursing
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Assessing fall risk in acute care settings is crucial for patient safety.
• The sensitivity and feasibility of functional performance measures in this context remain unclear.
• Existing tools may have limitations in accurately identifying high-risk inpatients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the sensitivity and feasibility of subjective and objective measures for fall risk, falls efficacy, and functional abilities in adult acute care inpatients.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of different assessment tools in identifying patients with a history of falls.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study was conducted on adult inpatients in an acute care unit.
• Utilized the Morse Fall Scale (n=30) and Timed Up and Go (TUG; n=10) for objective and subjective fall risk assessment.
• Included the St. Thomas Risk Assessment Tool for comparison.

Main Results:

• The Morse Fall Scale and Timed Up and Go demonstrated excellent sensitivity (100%) in identifying patients with prior falls.
• The St. Thomas Risk Assessment Tool showed good sensitivity (87.5%) for the same outcome.
• Findings indicate the potential utility of these measures in acute care settings.

Conclusions:

• Functional performance measures are sensitive and feasible for acute care settings.
• Integrating objective functional measures with subjective fall risk assessments enhances accuracy in identifying inpatient fall risks.
• This approach can improve patient safety and clinical decision-making in acute care environments.