Overall, there is little variation in interventions used to prevent patient falls, despite different risk levels, according to a new data analysis from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
The group's "Patterns of Fall Interventions" report is based on an analysis of patient falls data submitted from 2009 to 2021. It found commonly reported interventions to prevent falls are very similar across senior and adult patients, despite seniors having much higher risks of harm and injury from falls, which are the most commonly reported sentinel event.
Four notes:
- Sensory impairment, a history of falls and certain medications are known to increase the risk of falls. However, commonly reported interventions were similar across patients with and without a higher risk, the data analysis showed.
- Assistive devices were the most frequent intervention in place among adult patients and seniors.
- When looking at a subgroup of patients with sensory impairment and those without, the most frequently implemented intervention was a low bed.
- For patients both with and without a history of falls, use of a low bed was the most commonly reported intervention.
Overall, the findings suggest there are opportunities for healthcare organizations to provide more tailored care.