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Identification of High Fall Risk Patients in Acute Rehab

Vonderhaar-Picard, Vanessa
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=msjdn1557840767904783

Abstract Details

2019, Doctor of Nursing Practice, Mount St. Joseph University, Department of Nursing.
Patient falls are a prevalent safety issue worldwide, and are the most frequently reported safety event in hospitals. Falls are a costly and complex issue, and despite much research there is not a simple solution to improving fall rates. Patients in the acute rehabilitation unit (ARU) setting are one of the most at risk populations to falls; however, a screening tool for this specific population has not yet been identified. A tool is needed to identify high fall risk patients in the ARU so appropriate preventative nursing interventions can be implemented. An exhaustive literature search indicates a fall prediction tool should be utilized in the ARU; however, a tool has not been validated in this setting. The Edmonson Psychiatric Fall Risk Assessment Tool (EPFRAT), although indicated for acute psychiatric patients, evaluates age, mental status, elimination, medications, diagnosis, ambulation/balance, nutrition, sleep disturbance, and history of falls, (Edmonson, Robinson, & Hughes, 2011), which are the same risk factors that contribute to Acute Rehab falls. Literature supported evaluating the EPFRAT tool in the ARU to identify high fall risk patients. Accurate identification of high falls risk patients in ARU allows for implementation of correct nursing interventions to prevent falls. Utilization of the EPFRAT in conjunction with the Morse Fall Scale (MFS) resulted in a decrease of falls per 1,000 patient days, from 9.025 in the first quarter, to 1.947 in the fourth quarter of 2018. In the first quarter, there were 10 falls on the ARU when only the MFS was used. During the fourth quarter when both scales were used, there were only 2 falls. Results indicate that with 95% confidence, using the EPFRAT scale in addition to the MFS decreases in the average number of falls per 1,000 patient days by between 0.44 and 13.9. Further evaluation of the EPFRAT is needed at the site level and should be trialed in another ARU to see if comparable results are reproduced. Falls remain a significant safety issue in the ARU setting, however, use of the EPFRAT assisted in decreasing falls.
Susan Johnson (Advisor)
70 p.
Health Care; Health Care Management; Nursing
Fall; Fall Risk; Acute Rehab; Acute Rehab Falls; Fall Assessment Tool; Fall Tool

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Vonderhaar-Picard, V. (2019). Identification of High Fall Risk Patients in Acute Rehab [Doctoral dissertation, Mount St. Joseph University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=msjdn1557840767904783

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Vonderhaar-Picard, Vanessa . Identification of High Fall Risk Patients in Acute Rehab. 2019. Mount St. Joseph University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=msjdn1557840767904783.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Vonderhaar-Picard, Vanessa . "Identification of High Fall Risk Patients in Acute Rehab." Doctoral dissertation, Mount St. Joseph University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=msjdn1557840767904783

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

msjdn1557840767904783
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© 2019, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Identification of High Fall Risk Patients in Acute Rehab by Vanessa Vonderhaar-Picard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Mount St. Joseph University Dept. of Nursing and OhioLINK.