What is the project about?
Hospital falls by older patients (65 years or older) have been identified as a safety priority by older people, hospital staff and policy makers. Hospital falls are a major cause of serious injuries and deaths each year and are associated with older patients’ functional decline, delayed discharge, loss of independence and admission to residential aged care. Australian hospitals spend $590 million yearly trying to prevent falls, but some interventions used, such as bed alarms, are not effective. This is a critical problem as older people frequently use hospitals and consume 49% of the 31.8 million bed-days of care provided in Australia. It is vital to reduce falls to avoid older people having poor outcomes after a hospital admission. A recent systematic review demonstrates that providing older patients with fall prevention education alongside staff support reduces hospital falls and associated injuries. This evidence for education is based on our CI team’s trials and is recommended (GRADE 1A) in new World Falls Guidelines. However, a major gap exists because few hospitals deliver any patient fall prevention education.
Who’s involved?
The team will implement our evidence-based Safe Recovery fall education program in three health systems in two states, including Western Health. Local Allied Health and Nursing Champions will oversee delivery of individualised fall education, supported by co-designed resources, to older patients across wards, using a cluster stepped-wedge trial. Implementation will be enabled by consumer leadership and health system support.
What are the anticipated outcomes of the project?
Reduced falls and injuries can improve older people’s outcomes and hospital safety. We will provide a foundation for effective delivery of patient fall prevention education in Australian hospitals by partnering with stakeholders (older people, families, staff, health services) and providing clinicians with research training to discover and translate evidence into high quality practice.
