How to Prevent Patients from Falling at Hospital Setting

1898 Words8 Pages
How Can We Patients from Falling in Hospitals? Carolina Jimenez Miami Dade College Abstract Preventing patient falls is a top priority for a nurse in every clinical setting. Falls are the leading cause of injury in the elderly. Evidence demonstrates that patient falls in nearly 1.9 to 3% all acute care hospitalizations, and 15% of all inpatients at least fall once. Approximately 30% of inpatients falls end up with a serious injury. It is under our scope of nurses to encourage and educate patients and family members regarding this important issue. We can educate them in how to make lifestyle and environmental changes to prevent falls. For me, this topic is really important because I work at a telemetry and orthopedics units. Nearly every nurse in my unit can tell exactly how they felt after an event in which a patient fell. With this research, my purpose is to increase my knowledge, learn how to promote prevention interventions in my unit, and put them into practice. How Can We Prevent Falls in Hospitals? Statistics show that accidental falls in hospitals may lead to injury and even death in patients. The evidence shows that nearly 50% of hospitalized patients are at risk for falls and half of those who fall suffer an injury. Preventing patient falls is one of the top priorities for a nurse in every clinical setting. Evidence shows that patient fall in 1.9 to 3% of acute care hospitalizations (Spoelstra, Given & Given, 2011). Falls in old patients have a negative impact in their physical and emotional health, long term function, and quality of life. Patients injured in a fall may lead to increase hospital costs due to additional treatment and longer lengths of stay (Ang, Mordiffi, & Wong, 2011). According to Spoelstra (2011) the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services categorized falls as a

More about How to Prevent Patients from Falling at Hospital Setting

Open Document