Original Research: What Health Care Staff Who Experienced Assisted Patient Falls Can Teach Us: Implications for Fall...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare quality improvement
• Patient safety research
• Occupational health

Background:

• Assisted patient falls are a significant concern in healthcare settings.
• Understanding staff experiences and risk perceptions is crucial for developing effective fall prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• Identify common scenarios of assisted falls.
• Describe healthcare staff experiences and risk perceptions related to assisted falls.
• Explore factors influencing staff perceptions of fall risks and prevention.

Main Methods:

• Purposive sampling of 16 staff members from 13 healthcare facilities.
• Thematic content analysis of interview transcripts and secondary narrative data from injury databases.
• Qualitative data analysis to explore perceptions and influencing factors.

Main Results:

• Assisted falls frequently occurred in patient rooms/bathrooms during ambulation or transfers.
• Staff described using physical techniques to steady patients, leading to injuries (e.g., lower back for staff, legs for patients).
• Most staff believed proper body mechanics prevented their injury, a perception challenged by the findings.

Conclusions:

• Staff experiences highlight areas for improvement in fall prevention protocols.
• The belief that proper body mechanics prevent staff injury during assisted falls may be a misconception.
• There is no demonstrably safe method for physically assisting a falling patient without inherent risk of staff injury.