Impact of level of nurse experience on falls in medical surgical units

Abstract

Aim To describe nurse‐specific and patient risk factors present at the time of a patient fall on medical surgical units within an academic public health care system. Background The incidence of falls can be devastating for hospitalized patients and their families. Few studies have investigated how patient and nurse‐specific factors can decrease the occurrence of falls in hospitals. Method In this retrospective cohort study, data were gathered on all patients who experienced a fall during January 2012 to December 2013. Results Falls were reduced dramatically when the number of nurses on the unit increased to five or six. Patient falls occurred most often when either the least experienced or most experienced nursing staff were providing care. Conclusion Patient falls in hospitals can be influenced not only by patient‐specific factors, but also by nurse staffing and experience level. Implications for nursing management Findings from this study highlight factors which may contribute to hospital‐based falls prevention initiatives and are amenable to nursing management decisions.

Nurses’ knowledge, attitude, and fall prevention practices at south Korean hospitals: a cross-sectional survey

“…Levels of knowledge regarding falls in participants who had experience of patients falling were significantly higher relative to those in participants who had no experience of patients falling. This finding is consistent with the results of a previous study [ 23 , 27 ] which demonstrated that participants’ knowledge and interest with regard to falls increased once they had experienced patients’ falling.…”

“…Hospitals with a high perception of patient safety culture had a lower rate of patient falls than hospitals that did not. Therefore, attempts to increase the perception of a safety culture have emerged as an important issue to reduce accidents [ 22 , 23 ]. However, the perception of patient safety culture among nurses in small- and medium-sized hospitals was low, indicating that there is a difference in the perception of patient safety cultures according to the size of the hospital [ 21 , 22 ].…”

Nurses’ Knowledge, Attitude, and Fall Prevention Practices at South Korean Hospitals: A Cross-Sectional Survey

“…Levels of knowledge regarding falls in participants who had experience of patients falling were signi cantly higher relative to those in participants who had no experience of patients falling. This nding is consistent with the results of a previous study [26,21] which demonstrated that participants' knowledge and interest with regard to falls increased once they had experienced patients' falling.…”

The effect of nurse staffing on patient‐safety outcomes: A cross‐sectional survey

“…Blegen et al, 2001). Another study (Bowden, Bradas, & McNett, 2019) Bae's study, patients in hospitals with nurse staffing grade 2 (2-2.5 beds per nurse) and grade 3 (2.5-3.0 per nurse) had increased odds of 25% and 32%, respectively, of experiencing HAP than those in a hospital with a nurse staffing grade of 1 (lower than 2 beds per nurse) (Kim & Bae, 2018). A systematic review (Mitchell, Gardner, Stone, Hall, & Pogorzelska-Maziarz, 2018) of research on hospital staffing and health care-associated infections found that increased levels of nurse staffing were associated with a decrease in the risk of HAI.…”