Risk assessment and incidence of falls in adult hospitalized patients¹

Objectives:  assess the risk of falls in adult hospitalized patients and verify the incidence of the event in this environment.

Method:  cohort study, with approval by the Research Ethics Committee, which monitored 831 patients hospitalized at a university hospital. The Morse Fall Scale (MFS) was used to assess the risk and patients with high risk (≥45 points) were considered exposed to falls.

Results:  the mean MFS score was 39.4 (±19.4) points. Between the first and the final assessment, the score increased by 4.6%. The first assessment score presented a strong and positive correlation with the final assessment score (r=0.810; p=0.000).

Conclusion:  the higher the risk score for falls when the patient is admitted, the higher the score at the end of the hospitalization period and vice-versa. The incidence rate corresponded to 1.68% with a higher percentage of patients classified at high risk of falls.

Descriptors:
Nursing; Accidental Falls; Patient Safety; Scales; Hospitalization; Incidence