Abstract
This study aimed to identify the criteria used to select suitable beds (cots with high side-rails or adult-sized beds) for pediatric patients, and to determine the relationship between these criteria and the fall rate. Data were collected using a cross-sectional design and questionnaires sent to 603 randomized general hospitals in Japan. Among the hospitals that were contacted, 252 (41.8%) returned their questionnaires. One hundred and sixty-four facilities (65.1%) had criteria for selecting pediatric beds. Children given an adult-sized bed were predominantly aged "over 4-5 years" (28.2%) or "over 3-4 years" (26.4%). Other criteria used to select suitable beds were "development" (40.4%), "body height/physical size" (33.1%) and "disease/symptom" (13.2%). Data on the number of falls were provided by 162 facilities. The fall rate was significantly lower in facilities that had criteria such as those above than in those that did not (p=0.02). The fall rate was significantly higher in facilities that gave an adult-sized bed to children aged "over 4-5 years" than in those that gave such beds to children "under 4 years" (p=0.01).
