Retrospective Analysis of Factors Associated With a Revised Fall Prevention Bundle in Hospitalized Patients

Area of Science:

• Healthcare quality improvement
• Patient safety research
• Hospital fall prevention strategies

Background:

• Hospital falls are a major cause of inpatient accidents, occurring approximately 1 million times annually.
• These falls contribute to patient injury, increased mortality, prolonged hospital stays, and elevated healthcare costs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify factors associated with inpatient falls and associated injuries.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of a revised fall-prevention bundle in reducing falls and injuries.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of adult inpatient fall data.
• Analysis of fall incidents before and after implementing a revised fall-prevention bundle.

Main Results:

• Implementation of the revised fall-prevention bundle led to a decrease in falls per patient day.
• Specific patient characteristics were identified that correlate with a higher likelihood of injury during a fall.

Conclusions:

• The revised fall-prevention bundle demonstrated efficacy in reducing both the incidence of inpatient falls and falls resulting in injury.
• Increased awareness of identified risk factors can further mitigate the risk of injury in hospitalized patients who fall.