Fall risk assessment scale for hospital inpatients

Abstract

Introduction: The National Health System has been constructing a security platform in tune with the World Alliance for Patient Safety. One of the objectives of the 2007-2012 Health Sector Program is to promote the use of clinical practice guidelines and protocols to reduce variability and risk in the provision of medical services. Given the lack of a validated instrument in Mexico, the Directorate of Nursing/Permanent Commission of Nursing published the Protocol for the Prevention of Falls in Hospitalized Patients to identify risks and prevent falls.

Objective: To determine the applicability of the fall risk assessment scale. 

Methods: Transversal descriptive study. Following a literature review and an operational review, a falls risk assessment scale was selected and applied to a nonrandom sample of 806.

Results: 91% of participants agreed that the schedule should be unchanged. The average degree of risk was 4, equivalent to high risk. Patients at high risk for falls had medical diagnoses of postpartum, diabetes mellitus, fractures, stroke, hypertension, head injury, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, seizures and chronic renal failure. 

Conclusions: The fall hazards rating scale utilized is applicable to the Mexican population, regardless of population structure and inpatient type, and discriminates by diagnosis between patients at high and low risk of falls.