Standards for Hospital Falls Prevention and Management: An International Comparative Analysis | JoVE Visualize

Area of Science:

Healthcare Quality and Safety
Geriatric Medicine
Public Health Policy

Background:

Hospital falls and injuries pose a global challenge, particularly for older adults, leading to significant harm and costs.
Hospital standards are crucial for ensuring patient safety, quality care, and optimal outcomes, often influencing hospital accreditation processes.
This investigation critically analyzed the global landscape of hospital falls standards to identify content and quality variations.

Purpose of the Study:

To conduct a comprehensive global analysis of existing hospital falls standards.
To evaluate the content and quality of these standards across different nations.
To identify areas for improvement in hospital falls prevention and management strategies through standardized guidelines.

Main Methods:

A systematic search was conducted across multiple databases, grey literature, and organizational websites to identify hospital standards mentioning 'falls'.
Standards from 82 countries (considering population and GDP) were initially identified, with a focus on those relevant to falls prevention and management.
Data analysis involved deductive framework synthesis and content analysis to assess the quality and identify key themes within the selected standards.

Main Results:

Twenty-two hospital standards from 72 countries were included in the final analysis, revealing significant variability in content and quality.
Only seven standards were rated as high quality, while 12 were medium and 3 were low quality, with many lacking detail on screening, assessment, and prevention.
Key deficiencies included limited consumer engagement, infrequent documentation of data collection/reporting procedures, and a lack of reference to current research or guidelines.

Conclusions:

There is considerable inconsistency in the quality and content of hospital falls standards globally.
International collaboration is essential to enhance the consistency and validity of these standards, thereby optimizing patient care and outcomes.
The findings can inform the development and refinement of hospital accreditation procedures to improve patient safety, experience, and overall service quality.