Koh Serena Siew Lin, Manias Elizabeth, Hutchinson Alison M, Johnston Linda
School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
J Eval Clin Pract. 2007 Oct;13(5):722-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2753.2006.00743.x.
To investigate the incidence of falls and explore fall prevention practices at acute care hospitals in Singapore.
A retrospective audit to collect baseline data on (1) incidence of falls (patient fall rates and fall injury rates) and (2) fall prevention practices, was conducted in five acute care hospitals in Singapore from December 2004 to March 2005.
Medical record data (n = 6000) of patients admitted into the medical, surgical and geriatric units in the five hospitals.
Fall incidence was obtained from the hospital's fall databases and incident reports for the period of June 2003 to May 2004. In total, 6000 medical records from five hospitals were randomly selected, retrieved and reviewed to determine whether falls, fall assessments and interventions were being initiated and documented.
The number of fallers for all hospitals was 825. Analysis showed that patient fall rates ranged from 0.68 to 1.44 per 1000 patient days, and the proportion of falls associated with injury ranged from 27.4% to 71.7%. The use of a fall risk assessment tool by nurses was recorded in 77% of all the nursing records.
This study has laid the foundation for further research for fall prevention in Singapore by describing current fall rates, fall-associated injury rates and the status of fall prevention practices in acute care settings. The results will be used to inform the development of a tailored multifaceted strategy to facilitate the implementation of Fall Prevention Clinical Practice Guidelines to reduce the burden of falls and fall injuries in hospitals in Singapore.
调查新加坡急症医院的跌倒发生率，并探索预防跌倒的措施。
2004年12月至2005年3月，在新加坡的五家急症医院进行了一项回顾性审计，以收集关于（1）跌倒发生率（患者跌倒率和跌倒受伤率）和（2）预防跌倒措施的基线数据。
五家医院内科、外科和老年科收治患者的病历数据（n = 6000）。
跌倒发生率来自医院2003年6月至2004年5月期间的跌倒数据库和事件报告。总共随机抽取、检索并审查了五家医院的6000份病历，以确定是否启动并记录了跌倒、跌倒评估和干预措施。
所有医院的跌倒患者数量为825例。分析表明，患者跌倒率为每1000个患者日0.68至1.44例，跌倒相关受伤的比例为27.4%至71.7%。77%的护理记录中记录了护士使用跌倒风险评估工具的情况。
本研究通过描述当前急症环境中的跌倒率、跌倒相关受伤率以及预防跌倒措施的现状，为新加坡进一步开展预防跌倒研究奠定了基础。研究结果将用于制定针对性的多方面策略，以促进《预防跌倒临床实践指南》的实施，减轻新加坡医院跌倒和跌倒受伤的负担。
