Preventing hospital falls: feasibility of care workforce redesign to optimise patient falls education

Meg E Morris; Claire Thwaites; Rosalie Lui; Steven M McPhail; Terry Haines; Debra Kiegaldie; Hazel Heng; Louise Shaw; Susan Hammond; Jonathan P McKercher; Matthew Knight; Leeanne M Carey; Richard Gray; Ron Shorr; Anne-Marie Hill

doi:10.1093/ageing/afad250

Preventing hospital falls: feasibility of care workforce redesign to optimise patient falls education

Meg E Morris, Claire Thwaites, Rosalie Lui, Steven M McPhail, Terry Haines, Debra Kiegaldie, Hazel Heng, Louise Shaw, Susan Hammond, Jonathan P McKercher, Matthew Knight, Leeanne M Carey, Richard Gray, Ron Shorr, Anne-Marie Hill

School of Allied Health

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine the feasibility of using allied health assistants to deliver patient falls prevention education within 48 h after hospital admission.

DESIGN AND SETTING: Feasibility study with hospital patients randomly allocated to usual care or usual care plus additional patient falls prevention education delivered by supervised allied health assistants using an evidence-based scripted conversation and educational pamphlet.

PARTICIPANTS: (i) allied health assistants and (ii) patients admitted to participating hospital wards over a 20-week period.

OUTCOMES: (i) feasibility of allied health assistant delivery of patient education; (ii) hospital falls per 1,000 bed days; (iii) injurious falls; (iv) number of falls requiring transfer to an acute medical facility.

RESULTS: 541 patients participated (median age 81 years); 270 control group and 271 experimental group. Allied health assistants (n = 12) delivered scripted education sessions to 254 patients in the experimental group, 97% within 24 h after admission. There were 32 falls in the control group and 22 in the experimental group. The falls rate was 8.07 falls per 1,000 bed days in the control group and 5.69 falls per 1,000 bed days for the experimental group (incidence rate ratio = 0.66 (95% CI 0.32, 1.36; P = 0.26)). There were 2.02 injurious falls per 1,000 bed days for the control group and 1.03 for the experimental group. Nine falls (7 control, 2 experimental) required transfer to an acute facility. No adverse events were attributable to the experimental group intervention.

CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible and of benefit to supplement usual care with patient education delivered by allied health assistants.

Original language	English
Article number	afad250
Number of pages	9
Journal	Age and Ageing
Volume	53
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afad250
Publication status	Published - 25 Jan 2024

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10.1093/ageing/afad250Licence: CC BY

Fall Injury Prevention for older Australians –through Innovation, Translation and Building Research Capacity
Hill, A.
NHMRC National Health and Medical Research Council
1/11/21 → 31/12/24
Project: Research

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Morris, M. E., Thwaites, C., Lui, R., McPhail, S. M., Haines, T., Kiegaldie, D., Heng, H., Shaw, L., Hammond, S., McKercher, J. P., Knight, M., Carey, L. M., Gray, R., Shorr, R., & Hill, A.-M. (2024). Preventing hospital falls: feasibility of care workforce redesign to optimise patient falls education. Age and Ageing, 53(1), Article afad250. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afad250

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title = "Preventing hospital falls: feasibility of care workforce redesign to optimise patient falls education",

abstract = "OBJECTIVE: To examine the feasibility of using allied health assistants to deliver patient falls prevention education within 48 h after hospital admission.DESIGN AND SETTING: Feasibility study with hospital patients randomly allocated to usual care or usual care plus additional patient falls prevention education delivered by supervised allied health assistants using an evidence-based scripted conversation and educational pamphlet.PARTICIPANTS: (i) allied health assistants and (ii) patients admitted to participating hospital wards over a 20-week period.OUTCOMES: (i) feasibility of allied health assistant delivery of patient education; (ii) hospital falls per 1,000 bed days; (iii) injurious falls; (iv) number of falls requiring transfer to an acute medical facility.RESULTS: 541 patients participated (median age 81 years); 270 control group and 271 experimental group. Allied health assistants (n = 12) delivered scripted education sessions to 254 patients in the experimental group, 97% within 24 h after admission. There were 32 falls in the control group and 22 in the experimental group. The falls rate was 8.07 falls per 1,000 bed days in the control group and 5.69 falls per 1,000 bed days for the experimental group (incidence rate ratio = 0.66 (95% CI 0.32, 1.36; P = 0.26)). There were 2.02 injurious falls per 1,000 bed days for the control group and 1.03 for the experimental group. Nine falls (7 control, 2 experimental) required transfer to an acute facility. No adverse events were attributable to the experimental group intervention.CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible and of benefit to supplement usual care with patient education delivered by allied health assistants.",

author = "Morris, {Meg E} and Claire Thwaites and Rosalie Lui and McPhail, {Steven M} and Terry Haines and Debra Kiegaldie and Hazel Heng and Louise Shaw and Susan Hammond and McKercher, {Jonathan P} and Matthew Knight and Carey, {Leeanne M} and Richard Gray and Ron Shorr and Anne-Marie Hill",

note = "{\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society.",

year = "2024",

month = jan,

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doi = "10.1093/ageing/afad250",

language = "English",

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T1 - Preventing hospital falls

T2 - feasibility of care workforce redesign to optimise patient falls education

AU - Morris, Meg E

AU - Thwaites, Claire

AU - Lui, Rosalie

AU - McPhail, Steven M

AU - Haines, Terry

AU - Kiegaldie, Debra

AU - Heng, Hazel

AU - Shaw, Louise

AU - Hammond, Susan

AU - McKercher, Jonathan P

AU - Knight, Matthew

AU - Carey, Leeanne M

AU - Gray, Richard

AU - Shorr, Ron

AU - Hill, Anne-Marie

PY - 2024/1/25

Y1 - 2024/1/25

N2 - OBJECTIVE: To examine the feasibility of using allied health assistants to deliver patient falls prevention education within 48 h after hospital admission.DESIGN AND SETTING: Feasibility study with hospital patients randomly allocated to usual care or usual care plus additional patient falls prevention education delivered by supervised allied health assistants using an evidence-based scripted conversation and educational pamphlet.PARTICIPANTS: (i) allied health assistants and (ii) patients admitted to participating hospital wards over a 20-week period.OUTCOMES: (i) feasibility of allied health assistant delivery of patient education; (ii) hospital falls per 1,000 bed days; (iii) injurious falls; (iv) number of falls requiring transfer to an acute medical facility.RESULTS: 541 patients participated (median age 81 years); 270 control group and 271 experimental group. Allied health assistants (n = 12) delivered scripted education sessions to 254 patients in the experimental group, 97% within 24 h after admission. There were 32 falls in the control group and 22 in the experimental group. The falls rate was 8.07 falls per 1,000 bed days in the control group and 5.69 falls per 1,000 bed days for the experimental group (incidence rate ratio = 0.66 (95% CI 0.32, 1.36; P = 0.26)). There were 2.02 injurious falls per 1,000 bed days for the control group and 1.03 for the experimental group. Nine falls (7 control, 2 experimental) required transfer to an acute facility. No adverse events were attributable to the experimental group intervention.CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible and of benefit to supplement usual care with patient education delivered by allied health assistants.

AB - OBJECTIVE: To examine the feasibility of using allied health assistants to deliver patient falls prevention education within 48 h after hospital admission.DESIGN AND SETTING: Feasibility study with hospital patients randomly allocated to usual care or usual care plus additional patient falls prevention education delivered by supervised allied health assistants using an evidence-based scripted conversation and educational pamphlet.PARTICIPANTS: (i) allied health assistants and (ii) patients admitted to participating hospital wards over a 20-week period.OUTCOMES: (i) feasibility of allied health assistant delivery of patient education; (ii) hospital falls per 1,000 bed days; (iii) injurious falls; (iv) number of falls requiring transfer to an acute medical facility.RESULTS: 541 patients participated (median age 81 years); 270 control group and 271 experimental group. Allied health assistants (n = 12) delivered scripted education sessions to 254 patients in the experimental group, 97% within 24 h after admission. There were 32 falls in the control group and 22 in the experimental group. The falls rate was 8.07 falls per 1,000 bed days in the control group and 5.69 falls per 1,000 bed days for the experimental group (incidence rate ratio = 0.66 (95% CI 0.32, 1.36; P = 0.26)). There were 2.02 injurious falls per 1,000 bed days for the control group and 1.03 for the experimental group. Nine falls (7 control, 2 experimental) required transfer to an acute facility. No adverse events were attributable to the experimental group intervention.CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible and of benefit to supplement usual care with patient education delivered by allied health assistants.

U2 - 10.1093/ageing/afad250

DO - 10.1093/ageing/afad250

M3 - Article

C2 - 38275097

SN - 0002-0729

VL - 53

JO - Age and Ageing

JF - Age and Ageing

IS - 1

M1 - afad250

ER -

Preventing hospital falls: feasibility of care workforce redesign to optimise patient falls education

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Fall Injury Prevention for older Australians –through Innovation, Translation and Building Research Capacity

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