Bed Alarms and Fall Prevention in Hospitals
Author Information
Author(s): Haines Terry, Pu Debbie, Stephen Kelly, Shorr Ronald
Primary Institution: Monash University
Hypothesis
Does reducing or eliminating bed alarm use affect in-hospital fall rates?
Conclusion
Reducing or eliminating bed alarms did not show non-inferiority compared to high use of alarms, and their use was not superior in preventing falls.
Supporting Evidence
- The study involved 18 wards over 10 months.
- Alarm use was monitored through visual audits.
- Falls data were collected through hospital incident reporting.
Takeaway
This study looked at whether using fewer bed alarms in hospitals would still keep patients safe from falling. It found that using fewer alarms didn't work as well as using a lot of them.
Methodology
A 3-arm, non-inferiority, stepped-wedge randomised trial with concurrent parallel cluster randomised trial.
Potential Biases
Potential bias in reporting falls and the subjective nature of incident reporting.
Limitations
The study may not account for all variables affecting fall rates and relied on incident reporting.
Participant Demographics
Wards from hospitals in Melbourne, Australia.
Statistical Information
Confidence Interval
95%CI: -2.41 to 3.00 for reduced; 95%CI: -1.58 to 3.83 for eliminated.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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