Predicting in-hospital falls: development of the Scott and White Falls Risk Screener.
Falling is the most common hospital accident, and up to 15% of fallers sustain a serious injury. This study focused on developing a simple, practical fall risk screener using routine admission and daily in-hospital stay data. A case-control design was used. Logistic regression identified individual characteristics associated with an increased risk of a fall. Four variables were identified: history of falls, ambulation assistance, disoriented, and bowel control problems, creating a fall risk model with 70% sensitivity and 57% specificity.
Yauk
Sheryl
S
Scott and White Memorial Hospital and Clinic, Temple, Tex, USA. syauk@swmail.sw.org
Hopkins
Barbara A
BA
Phillips
Charles D
CD
Terrell
Sandra
S
Bennion
Joyce
J
Riggs
Mark
M
D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000368:Aged; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012308:Risk Management / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013781:Texas