Article Text

Download PDFPDF
Incidence and outcomes of falls in an inpatient palliative care unit: a single-centre retrospective study
  1. Paul Stack1,
  2. Amanda Fischer1 and
  3. Phillip Good1,2
  1. 1 Palliative Care Department, St Vincent's Private Hospital Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  2. 2 Supportive and Palliative Care, Mater Misericordiae Health Services Brisbane Ltd, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  1. Correspondence to Amanda Fischer; amanda.fischer{at}svha.org.au

Abstract

Background Falls are a significant concern in healthcare settings. While comprehensive strategies to prevent falls are employed in hospitals, there is a lack of information regarding falls within inpatient palliative care units.

Method This retrospective cohort study analysed fall incidence, characteristics and outcomes in a metropolitan inpatient palliative care unit over a 1 year period. Falls were identified using the online incident reporting system and patient characteristics, fall risk assessment and prevention measures were obtained through the electronic patient records.

Results During the study period, there were 61 falls by 51 patients out of a total of 525 admitted patients. The incidence of falls was 9.7% and the rate of falls was 5.8 falls per 1000 bed days for all admitted patients. Though more than half of falls resulted in no injury, 41% of patients with falls died within a week post-fall. Fall risk assessment was completed for 97% of patients at the time of the fall.

Conclusion This study contributes to the understanding of falls in inpatient palliative care units. Fall risk assessment and prevention measures did not appear to alter the rate of falls among patients who fell. Fall prevention strategies need to be tailored to meet patient autonomy, end of life goals and maintain healthcare standards.

  • Palliative Care
  • Terminal care
  • Hospice care
  • Quality of life
  • Supportive care
  • Clinical assessment

Statistics from Altmetric.com

Request Permissions

If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

Footnotes

  • Contributors The project was designed and developed by AF and PG. Data was collected by AF and PS. Data analysis was led by PS with substantial input from AF and PG. All authors contributed to drafting, revising and approving the manuscript.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.