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How Staff, Patients, Residents and Families Perceive Mobilisation Alarms for Preventing Falls in Hospital and Aged
Kelly Stephen1,2, Dai Pu1, Jennifer Weller-Newton3,4
1School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Frankston, Victoria, Australia.
Aim:
To compare and contrast evidence investigating the use of mobilisation alarms in hospitals and residential aged care, exploring: (1) why and how mobilisation alarms are used; (2) attitudes of staff, patients, residents and family members towards mobilisation alarm use and effectiveness.
Methods:
A scoping review was conducted following JBI methodology. Two independent reviewers screened studies against predefined inclusion criteria, and one reviewer extracted data. Quantitative data were predominantly converted into textual descriptions to enable narrative and thematic syntheses.
Data Sources:
Eight databases were searched in July 2025 with no date or language restrictions.
Results:
Fifty-eight studies were included, with 81% hospital-based and primarily examining staff perspectives. Alarm types included traditional pressure-sensitive pads, more advanced integrated bed alarms and wearable alarms. Alarms were frequently used; however, authors cautioned about ongoing high investment in traditional alarms. Themes that shaped attitudes towards alarms were effectiveness, device knowledge, workload impact, liability concerns and ethical tensions.
Conclusion:
Overuse and limited effectiveness of traditional pressure-sensitive alarms have shaped negative attitudes towards them. These factors, alongside emerging innovative alarm technologies, warrant future research efforts to explore alternative fall prevention strategies that are effective and acceptable to all stakeholders.
Impact:
Evidence shows that the effectiveness of alarms in preventing falls is uncertain, but it was unclear how often and in what ways alarms were being used across hospital and residential aged care. This scoping review identified that research is heavily skewed towards hospitals and nurse perspectives of alarms, with limited attention to residential aged care and patient, resident, family or non-nurse perspectives. Aged care initiated alarm disinvestment earlier than hospitals, but its translation to other facilities or sustainment is unknown. Such insights may assist hospital staff who are beginning their own disinvestment journey.
Reporting Method:
PRISMA-ScR guidelines.
Patient Or Public Contribution:
No Patient or Public Contribution.
