Don't Fall for That: Preventing Inpatient Falls Through Education

Falls occur commonly in hospital and rehabilitation settings and often result in physical injury and additional healthcare costs. Most studies of single interventions (e.g., bed alarms) have shown no benefit in preventing falls.

Australian investigators used a robust before–after quality-improvement design (stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized; NEJM JW Hosp Med Mar 2011 and JAMA 2010; 304:2279) in eight inpatient rehabilitation wards to study 3600 cognitively intact elders (average age, 81; 93% community dwelling prior to index admission). Patients received an educational intervention, including fall prevention strategies and training about personal fall risks, administered by a trained physical therapist. Researchers compared fall rates before…