Investigating In-Hospital Falls Reporting
Author Information
Author(s): Terry P Haines, Petrea Cornwell, Jennifer Fleming, Paul Varghese, Len Gray
Primary Institution: Monash University
Hypothesis
What factors influence the recording of in-hospital falls on incident reports?
Conclusion
Improving staff understanding of incident reporting's purpose may enhance reporting practices for in-hospital falls.
Supporting Evidence
- Staff reported feeling less likely to complete incident reports due to perceived blame.
- A majority of staff believed that completing incident reports protects against legal liability.
- Environmental factors like poor user-friendliness of reporting systems hindered reporting.
- Staff time availability was a significant barrier to completing incident reports.
Takeaway
This study looked at why hospital staff sometimes don't report falls. It found that understanding the importance of reporting could help them do it more often.
Methodology
A qualitative multi-centre investigation using an open written response questionnaire.
Potential Biases
Potential selection bias due to non-responses and the nature of the open-ended questions.
Limitations
The study may not have captured all contextual factors affecting reporting, and the written response format limited follow-up for clarification.
Participant Demographics
Hospital staff from various wards, including nursing and allied health professionals, with a mean experience of 11.8 years.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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