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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| An analysis of falls in the hospital: can we do without bedrails? | | Author(s) | H C Hanger, M C Ball, L A Wood |
| Journal title | Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol 47, no 5, May 1999 |
| Pages | pp 529-531 |
| Keywords | Falls ; Injuries ; Bed aids ; Restriction ; Safety devices ; Hospital services ; New Zealand. |
| Annotation | Falls and injuries from falls are common in older patients in institutions, and there is only limited evidence to support interventions that reduce the rate of falls and injuries. The authors undertook an education programme at their hospital in Christchurch, New Zealand, introducing a policy aimed at reducing the use of bedrails, and a "before" and "after" study was undertaken. They hypothesised that bedrails are not effective at preventing falls, and may themselves cause significant injuries. Data was collected for all patients admitted to any one of five assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation wards during 1994. There was a significant reduction in the number of beds with bedrails attached after the policy introduction, but the fall rate (either total or around the bed) did not change significantly. Serious injuries were significantly less common after the bedrail policy was introduced, with fewer head injuries. Although reducing the use of bedrails did not alter patient fall rates significantly, it was associated with a reduction in serious injuries. Unless it can be shown that bedrails are beneficial, their continued use in older patients must be brought into question. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-990825302 A |
| Classmark | OLF: CU: MT: 5RC: OT: LD: 7YN |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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