Are Call Light Use and Response Time Correlated With Inpatient Falls and Inpatient Dissatisfaction?

Abstract

Inpatients use call lights to seek nurses' assistance. Although implied in patient safety, no studies have analyzed data related to the use of or response time to call lights collected by existing tracking mechanisms monitoring nursing practice. This study used archived hospital data to determine the correlation of the call light use rate and the average call light response time with the fall rate, injurious fall rate, and patient satisfaction scores in acute inpatient care settings.

Nursing teamwork and time to respond to call lights: an exploratory study

“…A significant portion of the call light research and their usage focuses on the device as a tool for patient safety. One study showed that on surgical units, when call light use was high, the patient injurious fall rate was lowered (1) . In the same study, however, medical unit patient fall rates were not significantly related to more frequent use of call lights (1) .…”

“…One study showed that on surgical units, when call light use was high, the patient injurious fall rate was lowered (1) . In the same study, however, medical unit patient fall rates were not significantly related to more frequent use of call lights (1) . Meade and colleagues (7) found that the incorporation of hourly nursing rounds on nursing units lead to both a decreased use of call lights and a decreased patient falls by anticipating patients' needs.…”

“…Inpatients trust that when they use a call light device, someone will respond to it in a timely manner. Because call light systems are used to communicate patient needs to staff, the prompt answering of call lights directly affects patient satisfaction and perceptions of quality (1) . Surprisingly, little research has been conducted regarding how call light systems are used by patients and responded to by nursing staff members.…”

“…Tzeng (1) quantified nurses' perceptions of call lights in 27 adult care units. In that study, 49% of staff perceived that patient initiated calls mattered to patient safety, 77% agreed that these calls were meaningful, 52% thought that the call required attention by nurses, but at the same time, 53% of nurses felt that call lights prevented them from doing the critical aspects of their work.…”

Does revealing contextual knowledge of the patient’s intention help nurses’ handling of nurse calls?

“…Instead, previous work has examined how to reduce the number of interruptions, for example, through the introduction of additional nursing rounds [4,11]. Contradictorily, although there could be other factors involved, Tzeng and Yin [12] found that departments with the most frequent use of nurse calls had the fewest fall rates and the highest patient satisfaction score, encouraging the use of nurse calls among patients.…”