Falls In Hospitals

The reality is that falls happen; they especially happen in hospitals where patients are in an altered physical condition and state of mind. This is remarkably true for aging patients in the hospital. In a recent case review, it was noted that “hospitalized older adults are at risk for falls…retrospective case reviews were performed at one Vermont hospital and findings indicated all falls occurred while patients were attempting to void independently and were not witnessed” (Retrospective case reviews, 2015, p. 318). The findings at this hospital are not unique and could serve as the root cause for falls. When humans are the subject of the analysis the root cause is complicated. However, they are a good way for “hospitals to learn from errors with the intention of bringing system changes to prevent undesired events” (Chuang & Howley, 2013, p. 427).

Knowing this information provides a knowledge base for future prevention. Knowing that hospitals have a population that is made up of seniors allows for better decision making to anticipate and prevent falls. Another benefit is that if staff is accustomed to working with that particular population they can also look for indications of symptoms, actions or illnesses that are more prevalent in older patients. Staff can look for “ risk factors most commonly seen in hospital patients [such as] previous falls, muscle weakness or difficulty in mobilizing safely, dementia, delirium, continence problems or urinary frequency, medication that increases the risk of falls and orthostatic hypotension (a drop of blood pressure when standing that can lead to dizziness or fainting)” (Heaey & Darowski, 2012, p.