Health Professional Perceptions of Delivering Hospital Falls Prevention Education-A Qualitative Study.
Anne-Marie Hill, Cheng Yen Loo, Steffanie Coulter and 5 others
PMID 39945422WHAT IT FOUND
Health professionals supported hospital falls education but said short stays, busy wards, cognitive impairment, risk-taking, and English-only materials made delivery hard.
They identified PTs and OTs as most suitable to deliver it.
Key findings
01Physiotherapists and occupational therapists were identified as the most suitable professionals to deliver the Safe Recovery Program.
02Participants said offering a video, booklet, or both was important for patients with cognitive or hearing impairment.
03Some participants said short stays and interruptions made it hard for patients to process the booklet, video, and verbal education.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Staff from a single Western Australian hospital were asked, so their views may not apply to other hospitals. The study did not measure whether the program improved patient outcomes or reduced falls. Participants were health professionals, not patients or families, so patient experience was not directly captured. Ward culture may have shaped responses, but this was not controlled for.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The study was funded by a Research Excellence Award to Anne-Marie Hill from the Western Australian Future Health Research and Innovation Fund, with support from a National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator award and the Royal Perth Hospital Research Foundation.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as evidence that the Safe Recovery Program reduces falls. The study asked health professionals about their perceptions and did not measure patient outcomes.