Safety of the hospital environment in terms of preventing falls on the part of the elderly: a descriptive study

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the safety of the individual and collective physical environment to prevent falls on the part of the hospitalized elderly. Method: This is a descriptive cross-sectional and quantitative study. A total of one hundred and twenty seven (127) beds and their physical structure were evaluated in three units. Data were collected by means of a checklist. For analysis, the SPSS v.20.0 software was used, and descriptive statistics was employed as well as the Fisher's exact test for any association between the variables. Results: safety variables related to the movement of individuals showed a lack of compliance with safety standards (77.7%), and showed no statistical significance with regard to the incidence of falls. The physical structure of the public areas of the hospital were not adapted to facilitate the movement of persons (42.8%) and little consideration had been given to other health facilities (66.6%). Discussion: It is necessary to pay attention to non-conformities in order to decrease the risk of falling. Conclusion: It is necessary to ensure that the hospital environment adheres to technical standards and that the nursing staff pays attention to the environment in order to ensure safety and to prevent falls on the part of the elderly.

Clinical validation of fall prevention behavior in a hospital environment

“…In addition, it is important to highlight that all the environmental risk factors presented in the present study were related to the room/ward and bathroom. This information corroborates other studies that point out these two sites as the most frequent ones for occurrence of falls (18)(19) .…”

Development and validation of a video on bed baths

“…Another suggestion was to keep the call-light close to the patient after the bath, especially for the bedridden. One study emphasizes that not having devices to call the health staff is a risk factor for falls, which compromises the safety of patients (21) . infection (19) .…”

“…Another suggestion was to keep the call-light close to the patient after the bath, especially for the bedridden. One study emphasizes that not having devices to call the health staff is a risk factor for falls, which compromises the safety of patients ( 21 ) . Various experts suggested, especially the nursing professionals, that the modified bed bath technique used for unconscious patients and those unable to raise their hips for placement of the bedpan, was included.…”

Evaluation of the effectiveness of an intervention in a health team to prevent falls in hospitalized elderly people

“…Over the past years, there has been a marked increase in the number of falls among elderly people, especially those who are hospitalized. The literature justifies this growth with several reasons that, not surprisingly, are interconnected, such as the improvement in accident reporting systems; the increase in mean age or health deterioration of hospitalized people; the reduced time nurses spend with inpatients; the increase in use of sedation therapy (1) ; low levels of knowledge of elderly people regarding adequate strategies to prevent falls (2) ; the fact that individual and team practices not always guarantee safety when it comes to communication, recording, and monitoring of elderly people (3) ; and the hospital setting itself, which differs from the home environment, a fact that can contribute to 30% to 50% of the total number of falls in inpatients (4) .…”