Patient safety and falls: A qualitative study of home care nurses in Norway

Abstract

This study explored patient safety and falls, based on the experiences of home care nurses. Four focus group interviews were conducted with 20 home care nurses. The data were analyzed by content analysis. This study identified the following four themes: (i) patient safety was not viewed as primary prevention; (ii) the lack of investigation into causes of falls; (iii) the frailty of older people who can no longer live at home independently and safely; and (iv) patient autonomy versus patient safety. In this study, we showed that home care nurses felt that healthcare personnel were more concerned with the treatment of falls, rather than fall prevention. In addition, home care nurses rarely focused on falls before they occurred. The patient's autonomy was placed before patient safety. This study illustrates that home care nurses might be more aware of fall prevention in clinical practice. Additional research is recommended to shed more light on this topic.

Record of the circumstances of falls in the community: perspective in the Iberian Peninsula

“…The qualitative phase of the study also emphasizes that the preventive approach in the elderly is addressed exclusively by the nursing staff. In both contexts, some health professionals did not perceive the fall risk approach as a primary and priority prevention, focusing exclusively on the treatment of the consequences of falls 22 . In this sense, the nursing records related to the diagnosis and interventions were very scarce, evidencing a lack of awareness of the fall 23 .…”

Quedas no ambiente hospitalar, qualidade e segurança do paciente: metassíntese da literatura.

“…Portanto, é um efeito acumulativo das alterações relacionadas à idade, doenças, meioambiente e pessoal inadequado que predispõem o indivíduo às quedas (13,14) . (17) .…”

Most and least helpful aspects of fall prevention education to prevent injurious falls: a qualitative study on nurses' perspectives

“…However, Berland et al . () found that clinicians are more concerned with fall treatment than fall prevention because they tend to place their patients' autonomy before these patients' safety. Spanaki et al .…”

“…staff and patient safety education, fall-risk assessments, patient fall-risk alerts, environmental and equipment modifications, medication management and assistance with transfer and toileting) (Spoelstra et al 2012). However, Berland et al (2012) found that clinicians are more concerned with fall treatment than fall prevention because they tend to place their patients' autonomy before these patients' safety. Spanaki et al (2012) found that the prevalence of falls could not be significantly reduced after implementing stricter safety procedures (e.g.…”