Aim: The aim of the study was to explore the experience of staff nurses from selected hospitals in all regions of Slovakia of inpatient aggression in their past year of practice. Design: A quantitative cross-sectional study. Methods: The sample consisted of 1,042 nurses with a mean number of years of work experience of 19.23 (SD 10.96) from medical, surgical, and psychiatric wards, and emergency and intensive care units. Data collection was conducted by the self-reference instrument, the Violence and Aggression of Patients Scale (VAPS). Results: Over the past year, 97.4% of nurses have been confronted with patient aggression. 96.8% of nurses have experienced verbal aggression and 83.3% physical aggression. Nurses working in psychiatric and intensive care wards have experienced the most frequent episodes of patient aggression. A statistically significant difference was confirmed in the prevalence of patient aggression towards nurses based on their pattern of shift work. Nurses working in multiple-shift operation reported a higher frequency of patient aggression compared with those working singleshifts. The relationship between age, years of work experience, and level of education, and experience of patient aggression was not proved to be significant. Conclusion: The study highlights nurses' experience of different forms of patient aggression and provides confirmation of the current relevance of this issue. The results may become the basis for a systematic evaluation of the causative factors and the management of aggression. The implementation of preventive strategies in clinical practice is crucial.

Aim: To determine the incidence rate of forms of inpatient aggression towards nurses who working on psychiatric wards; to identify their attitude to patient aggression, to the factors that condition the occurrence and management of aggression. To determine the differences between nurses in relation to educational training aimed at the issue of patient aggression. Design: Quantitative cross-sectional study. Methods: Selection of respondents was deliberate. The sample comprised 223 nurses with an average of 21.27 (± 11.41) years of clinical practice. Data collection was implemented by means of the self-assessment scales: Violence and Aggression of Patients Scale (VAPS), Attitude Towards Aggression Scale (ATAS), The Management of Aggression and Violence Attitude Scale-Likert (MAVAS-L). Results: 98.58% experienced inpatient aggression in the course of the previous year. Negative attitudes to patient aggression predominated in the sample. Nurses expressed strongest agreement with the idea that internal factors foster patient aggression. Regarding methods of aggression management, nurses expressed strongest agreement with the use of medical therapy and restraints. They held a neutral attitude towards the use of non-physical methods. The age of nurses had an effect on how strongly they agreed with the importance of internal factors in prompting patient aggression and with the use of medical therapy and restraints. Conclusion: A high percentage of nurses have had personal experience of various forms of patient aggression. Negative attitudes to aggression predominated in our sample of nurses, emphasizing the influence of internal factors. The attitude of nurses towards patient aggression influences the selection of aggression management strategies.

Aim: The goal of this study was to analyse relevant research studies focusing on the testing of the predictive value of the Morse Fall Scale measuring device on hospitalized patients. Design: Literature review. Method: Search for full text research studies in Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Summon Discovery Tool (licensed electronic information databases), based on pre-established criteria, and key words, from 1989 to 2016. Results: Sensitivity values ranged from 31% to 98%, and specificity values ranged from 8% to 97% in 14 analysed studies. The predictive value of the tool in validation studies varies depending on the tested cutoff value, the type of clinical ward, the frequency of assessment, the size and age of the sample, and the length of hospitalisation; therefore, the validity of the results from one study cannot by extrapolated to the entire hospitalized population of patients. Conclusion: The predictive values of the Morse Fall Scale are not stable; they vary in clinical conditions according to various factors. When implementing a tool for a specific clinical ward, an optimum cutoff score must be established to ensure that preventative strategies do not require unnecessary effort on the part of the staff, and do not increase hospital costs.

To identify the incidence of key fall risk factors in groups of older adults in longterm care facilities and to find out which factors can be identified by the Morse Fall Scale (MFS) as significant in relation to high fall risks. Fall risk screening is the basis for efficient intervention planning. MFS is often recommended for fall risk detection even in long-term care settings. No tool for the prediction of fall risks has been tested in Slovakia so far. Methods: The design of this study is descriptive and correlated. Fall risk factors and fall risk screening (according to MFS) were assessed in 89 older adults in two longterm care facilities. The data were collected from July to October 2016. Results: The majority of monitored risk factors had a high incidence in the sample. The authors identified that a strong predictor of a fall is mainly the presence of a fall in the patient's clinical history. Statistically significant correlations were found between a history of falling, disorder of the gait and balance, use of ambulatory aids, mental disorder, falling during the study and a high fall risk according to MFS. Conclusion: This tool provides nurses with the information on the level of fall risk and specific risk factors. It also enables targeted planning of preventive and protective interventions. Despite the clinical efficiency of the tool it is still important to continue testing the prediction value of the tool in different areas of nursing practice in Slovakia.

A B S T R A C TPurpose: The aim of the study was to perform a fall risk screening and to identify the risk factors for falling in hospitalized patients with neurological disease aged up to and over 65 years. Design: A quantitative prospective cross-sectional study. Methods: The sample consisted of 103 patients who were hospitalized in the neurological unit. Empirical data was recorded in the research protocol, which included selected fall risk factors and the Morse Fall Scale (MFS). Results: Significant fall predictors in patients older than 65 years were: secondary diagnosis (p = 0.000), poly-pharmacotherapy (p = 0.000), number of medications taken over 24 hours (p = 0.000), a vision disorder (p = 0.005), continence disorder (p = 0.008), female sex (p = 0.005), the use of an ambulatory aid (p = 0.008), sleep disorders (p = 0.025), and hearing disorders (p = 0.033). The mean MFS total fall risk was 45.7 ± 20.2. In the sample of patients at high risk of falling, there were significant predictors of the falls: disorders of gait and balance (p = 0.000), the use of an ambulatory aid (p = 0.000), a history of falling (p = 0.001), age (p = 0.004), poly-pharmacotherapy = 0.008), continence disorder (p = 0.019), and vision disorder (p = 0.027). Conclusion: The identification of fall risk factors is the basis for the implementation of targeted nursing interventions to prevent and reduce falls. S Ú h R N Cieľ: Realizovať skríning rizika pádu a identifikovať rizikové faktory pádu u hospitalizovaných pacientov s neurologickým ochorením vo veku do a nad 65 rokov. Dizajn: Kvantitatívna prospektívna prierezová štúdia. Metodika: Súbor tvorilo 103 pacientov hospitalizovaných na neurologickom oddelení. Empirické údaje boli zaznamenávané do výskumného protokolu, ktorý obsahoval vybrané rizikové faktory pádu a nástroj Morse Fall Scale (MFS). Výsledky: Signifikantné prediktory pádu u pacientov starších ako 65 rokov boli pridružená diagnóza (p = 0,000), polyfarmakoterapia (p = 0,000), počet užívaných liekov * Korespondenční autor: Mgr. Michaela Miertová, PhD., Jesseniova lekárska fakulta UK, Ústav ošetrovateľstva, Malá hora 5, (Print) • ISSN 1804-7122 (Online) Kľúčové slová: Neurológia hospitalizovaní pacienti Pády Riziko Skríning Morse Fall Scale O š e t ř O v a t e l s t v í Článek citujte takto: Miertová M, Bóriková I, Tomagová M, Žiaková K. Risk factors of falling in patients with neurological diseases. Kontakt 2018; 20(3): e217-e222; http://dx.