英文摘要 |
Purposes: Falls can cause varying degrees of injury in patients and affect their physical function and ability to perform activities independently. The main purpose of this project was to reduce the incidence of falls among patients in acute care units. Methods: The current incidence of falls among patients in acute care units is 0.08% at Jan to June in 2020. The following have been identified as contributing factors: lack of knowledge in patients and their primary caregivers, improper use of commode chairs/ wheelchairs, language barriers, lack of information leaflets in foreign languages, and slippery floors. Improvement measures included the following: group health education on falls prevention, development of individualized checklists (in Chinese, English, and Indonesian) of falls prevention measures for high-risk/extremely high-risk individuals, placement of the warning signs“Keep bed rails raised to prevent falls”and“Bed exit is strictly disallowed for patients at high risk for falls,”screening and provision of nursing guidance videos on falls prevention in various languages (including QR codes), provision of nursing guidance on falls prevention in different languages through ward announcements over the public announcement system, creation of four-step instruction graphics for falls prevention during commode chair/wheelchair use, regular adjustment of water pressure in the shower head of every bathroom, and regular replacement of anti-slip strips on bathroom floors. Results: From July 1to December 31, the current incidence of falls dropped from 0.08% to 0.06% among patients in acute care units. Conclusions: The adoption of multiple falls prevention strategies lowered the incidence of falls among patients in acute care units. The workload and time spent by nurses can be effectively reduced by using high-tech robots to assist them in providing an overview of the hospital environment to patients during admission and nursing guidance to individuals at high risk of falls. This enables nurses to focus on individualized patient care and the optimization of nursing care quality. |