Prediction of Falls in Acute Care Using The Morse Fall Risk Scale

Abstract

The high number of patient falls occurring within acute care hospitals throughout the United States has led to increased patient impairment and contributed to rising healthcare costs. The Morse Fall Risk Scale is a commonly used assessment tool for prediction of a patient’s potential for experiencing a fall while in a healthcare facility. This retrospective study reviewed the use of the Morse Fall Risk Scale in a 300+ bed acute care hospital setting to determine adequacy for patient fall predictions over a four-month period. Use of multivariate regressions and Chi-Square test statistics revealed the Morse Fall Risk Scale was a predictor of patients’ fall risk in this setting with other significant predictors of fall risk potential including male gender and diagnosis (neurologic, cardiac, general medical/surgical conditions). Patients experiencing a fall had a statistically significant longer hospital stay. Occupational therapy practitioners play an important role on the interdisciplinary team by providing a comprehensive fall assessment, developing fall prevention programs, and providing discharge recommendations.

Keywords:

• Acute Care
• fall risk
• falls
• hospital
• Morse Fall Risk Scale

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Vanessa D. Jewell

Vanessa D. Jewell is an assistant professor and the vice chair of research and assessment in the department of occupational therapy at Creighton University. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1267-6003

Katherine Capistran

Katherine Capistran, OTD, MHSc, OTR/L was a post-professional occupational therapy doctorate student at Creighton University at the time of this study. This study was completed as partial fulfillment of her doctoral degree.

Kathleen Flecky

Kathleen Flecky,OTD, OTR/L is an associate professor in the occupational therapy department at Creighton University.

Yongyue Qi

Yongyue Qi, PhD is an assistant professor and statistician in the occupational therapy department at Creighton University.

Sarah Fellman

Sarah Fellman, OTD, OTR/L is a clinical instructor in the occupational therapy department at Creighton Univeristy.