Systematic Review of Patients' Perceptions of the Contributing Factors That Led to Falling in Acute Care Hospitals During Their Hospitalisation.
Caglayan Yasan, Bianca Rohlje, Jessica Cork and 2 others
PMID 40401919WHAT IT FOUND
Patients who fell in Australian acute hospitals linked falls to waiting too long for help, unclear fall-risk signs, and nurses not listening.
They said clear explanations and being listened to helped them understand risk and ask for help.
Key findings
01Only three studies met inclusion criteria, with 37 participants.
02Patients linked falls to being left unattended, getting out of bed or going to the toilet, not asking or waiting for assistance, and staff being too busy or not listening.
03Patients often lacked clear falls-risk instructions; some read fall signs as slipping, while clear explanations helped them understand risk.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only English-language qualitative or mixed-method studies conducted in Australia were included, which may omit relevant work. The final synthesis included only three studies and 37 participants, so the themes may not represent all acute hospital settings. Patients with cognitive impairment were mostly excluded, and one included study did not provide direct quotes from patients with cognitive impairment. The review could not determine overall satisfaction with falls prevention strategies. Quality appraisal did not exclude any studies, so methodological weaknesses remained in the synthesis.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these patient perceptions as proof that explaining falls risk prevents falls. The review synthesised patients' views from qualitative studies and did not test a falls prevention intervention.