Fall Prevention in a Swiss Acute Care Hospital Setting: Reducing Multiple Falls

Preventing in-hospital falls is an important goal in avoiding poor patient outcomes. In this quasi-experimental study, the authors evaluated the effectiveness of a nurse-led fall prevention program in a 300-bed Swiss hospital. Four hundred and nine patients (internal medicine) were included: intervention group (n = 198), usual-care group (n = 211). The program consisted of training nurses in the use of the Morse Fall Scale, and the implementation of 15 selected preventive interventions. In the intervention group, the proportion of patients at risk for falls was higher (p = .048), and fewer patients with multiple falls were observed (p = .009). The intervention program showed an effect in preventing multiple falls, but not first falls. The prolonged mean time to a first fall in a subgroup of fallers in the intervention group may indicate an increased awareness of the nurses and the appropriateness of the interventions used.