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Fall Risk Factors and the Nature of Falls in Inpatient Oncology and Palliative Care Settings
Bev O'Connell
Chair in Acute Nursing, Cabrini Hospital; Deakin University Nursing, Professorial Unit, Malvern VIC
Mark Cockayne
Executive Officer, South Eastern Palliative Care, Dandenong East VIC
David Wellman
Research Fellow, Deakin University, Melbourne Campus, Burwood VIC
Linda Baker
Research Fellow, Deakin Centre for Nursing Research, Malvern; School of Nursing, Faculty of Health, Medicine, Nursing and Behavioural Science, Deakin University, Melbourne Campus, Burwood VIC
Abstract
Using a prospective design, this study examined falls risk factors and the nature of patient falls in oncology and palliative care settings. Two hundred and twenty seven patients admitted to the oncology and palliative care units at a private hospital participated in this study. Of these, 34 patients had a fall and 193 patients did not have a fall. Twenty-four nurses who attended to patients who fell were interviewed.
Findings revealed that, when compared to patients who did not fall, fallers had a significantly higher mean age; were assessed as more physically dependent using the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group scale; were less alert and more confused; were more likely to have responded incorrectly to orientation to person, time and place; were weaker pre-fall in arm muscle strength; and were more fatigued.
These factors are worthy of further exploration to determine whether they are more sensitive than the currently used falls risk factors used in oncology and palliative care settings.
Keywords
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group scale, fall risk factors, fatigue level, oncology, palliative care
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