Falls in an Inpatient Geriatric Psychiatric Population

Author:

Blair Ellen1,Gruman Cynthia2

Affiliation:

1. Hartford Hospital/Institute of Living, Hartford, Connecticut, ,

2. University of Connecticut Health Center, Center on Aging, Farmington

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Falls are a major health care concern for older adults in hospital settings. The incidence of falls on psychiatric units tends to be higher than that on general acute care hospital units, with estimated rates of 13.1 to 25 per 1,000 inpatient days compared to 3 to 5 per 1,000 inpatient days, respectively. OBJECTIVE: The purposes of this study were to quantify the number and types of falls and identify the associated risk factors relevant to a psychiatric inpatient setting. DESIGN: This was a descriptive study. Data were collected over a 6-month time period. Patients on a 28-bed acute care geriatric psychiatric unit provided the sampling frame. RESULTS: Twenty-eight patients fell during the study period for a total 45 falls. Six patients experienced multiple falls during their stay. Most of the falls that occurred did not result in serious injury. Individuals who experienced a fall were about 3 years older than nonfallers (73.6 years versus 76.36 years). There was no difference by gender as to rate of falls. Activity level was higher for the patients who had a fall, and medication had the strongest relationship to a falls episode. When census was low, the fall rate was slightly higher. CONCLUSIONS: There are many variables that contribute to the phenomenon of falls in an acute geriatric psychiatric inpatient unit. Use of research findings will allow the development of a fall risk prevention protocol to provide the safest environment and best quality of care possible for the geriatric patient.

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Subject

Phychiatric Mental Health

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3