ResearchOnline@ND

Authors

Anne-Marie Hill, University of Notre Dame AustraliaFollow

Title

The sector speaks: New research shows patient education can reduce hospital falls by up to 50%

Document Type

Non-refereed article

Publication Date

2011

Abstract

Preventing falls is a high priority for older people and their health care team as unintentional falls are the leading cause of injury-related hospitalisations in Australia.¹ In Australia 91% of hip fractures are associated with a fall² and one year following hip fracture approximately half these patients are unable to walk independently.

Clinicians and researchers are now aware that falls are the most common adverse events reported in hospitals with Australian and UK research showing that one third of reported patient safety incidents are due to slips, trips and falls, with older patients significantly more likely to fall.³ When older people fall over in hospital up to 30% sustain a physical injury, compared to falls-related injuries sustained in the community where approximately 10% of falls cause injury.

Comments

Due to copyright restrictions the publisher's version/PDF of this article is unavailable for download.

This article may be accessed from the publisher here

Health Matters may be accessed from the National Library of Australia here

The Author:

Dr Anne-Marie Hill

Recommended Citation

Hill, A. M. (2011). The sector speaks: New research shows patient education can reduce hospital falls by up to 50%. Health Matters, 58(Winter), 28-30.