Perception of nurses about falls of hospitalized patients

Abstract

Patients falls represent a preoccupation to health professionals and administrators, since they compose one of the greatest categories of hospitalized patients incidents. This research had as objectives: explain the factors related to the falls of patients described by the literature and identify the causes of falls occurrences attributed by the nurses. The research was conducted at a University Hospital in the inner state of São Paulo, on the Medical, Surgical, Ear-nose-eye and Orthopaedic Clinics. The sample was composed by 53% of the nurses of the refered units, being the data collected through the application of a questionnaire and a check-list. The main fall predictor factors described by the literature are: aging, use of tranquilizers, sedatives and hypnotics, risk areas like hospital wards and bathrooms and lack of recognition of the risk of falling by the nurses. The main fall predictor factors indicated by nurses correspond with those described by the literature, being the use of medication (sedatives, tranquilizers and hypnotics) indicated by 100% of nurses; mental confusion, lack of time and space orientation, aging and lack of appropriate nursing assistance was pointed out by 88,9% of the sample. The results permitted the elaboration of a manual about prevention of hospitalized patients falls.