Uppfattningar om fall och fallprevention hos vårdpersonal inom geriatrisk slutenvård

Sammanfattning: Falls and fall related injuries are a major health issue to the elderly population of Sweden. The number of accidents in the community caused by falls is increasing. It is mainly the elderly who need to be hospitalized after a fall. Patients with stroke, cognitive disorders, or hip fracture, have a particularly high risk of falling. A common consequence of falls is femur fractures. To prevent and reduce the occurrences of falls in hospitals, an individual care plan aimed at the patient, is required, as well as an individual and feasible nursing intervention. It also require that health professionals use their knowledge and the patient’s and the hospital's resources, to implement the care plan. Since 2008 SKL runs a national effort to reduce preventable harm and improve patient safety, where fall related injuries are an area of focus. Aim: The aim with this study is to examine and describe health professionals' attitudes towards falls and fall prevention, and whether the nursing staff considers themselves to be proficient in falls and fall prevention. Method: This was a quantitative study and Mann Whitney U test were conducted in order to analyse and summarize the answers from the questionnaires. Results: The respondents have a positive attitude towards fall prevention. The perception among the nursing staff is that they feel well trained in fall prevention, and have sufficient knowledge in fall prevention. Conclusion: The conclusion of this study is that nurses and nursing staff take falls among patients very seriously and have a positive attitude towards fall prevention. They also consider themselves to have a good knowledge about falls and fall prevention.