Interprofessional approach to fall prevention in hospital care

To understand the perception and experience of health professionals regarding fall prevention practices in hospital inpatient units.

This is a qualitative exploratory and descriptive case study based on the Canadian framework of interprofessional competences. Data was collected from two focus groups, with different health professionals in each group, and thematic content analysis was used.

Five categories were drawn up which showed intense convergence between the participants of the two focus groups, within the context of fall prevention practices: communication between professionals and patients/carers for fall prevention, interprofessional communication for fall prevention, clarification of roles for fall prevention, health education about risk and fall prevention and continuing education for fall prevention.

Teamwork and collaborative practice are important for achieving good results in the prevention of falls in hospital care, but for this to happen, health professionals need to acquire the necessary competences for collaborative action.