title: Development of a tool to assess risk for falls in women in hospital obstetric units.
abstract: Because women hospitalized in obstetric units are typically young and healthy, they might be overlooked when health care providers assess for risk for falls. Recent literature has identified pregnant and postpartum women as being prone to falls, with hospitalization compounding their risk. A review of current practices among perinatal units for assessing risk for falls revealed that existing fall risk tools, which were created for geriatric and/or medical surgical patients, are used. Without any focused prevention efforts, hospitalized obstetric patients are vulnerable to a preventable event. The Obstetric Fall Risk Assessment System™ is intended to improve safety among hospitalized women on obstetric units, using an assessment tool and scoring system to determine fall risk.
authors.affiliation: Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Linh
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Heafner
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Suda
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Casalenuovo
authors.forename: Linda Searle
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Leach
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Erickson
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gawlinski
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control*; D055318:Evidence-Based Nursing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009773:Obstetric Nursing; D009775:Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hospital; D011247:Pregnancy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D017751:Safety Management / Q000379:methods*