Abstract
Purpose: Epidemiology of fall was not well investigated in Japan, and this study clarified it in a university hospital.
Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study for patients admitted to 18 wards except pediatrics, gynecology, and ICU at an urban university hospital in June, 2006. Variables potentially associated with fall were collected and fall events were assessed by voluntary reports. We used descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression model to develop the ward risk score for fall.
Results: Among 1,280 patients of mean age 60 years old, 37 falls on floor and 8 falls from bed were recorded. Incidence of fall on floor was 1.2 cases per 1,000 patient-day, that of fall from bed was 0.3. Fall on floor was 1.9 in patients with risk category 2 and 3 whereas 0.8 in those of category 1. The independent risk factors for fall for ward were the total incident report number, the number of the nurse assistant, and allocation of nurses in weekday. The ward risk score developed from these variables and the number of patients in each category of risk showed good prediction ability.
Conclusion: This study provided the actual situation of fall in a university hospital, and the ward risk score seemed a good index of fall prevention program in the future.
