Fall incidence and fall prevention practices at acute care hospitals in Singapore: A retrospective audit

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the incidence of falls and explore fall prevention practices at acute care hospitals in Singapore. Design: A retrospective audit to collect baseline data on (1) incidence of falls (patient fall rates and fall injury rates) and (2) fall prevention practices, was conducted in five acute care hospitals in Singapore from December 2004 to March 2005. Study participants: Medical record data (n = 6000) of patients admitted into the medical, surgical and geriatric units in the five hospitals. Outcome measures: Fall incidence was obtained from the hospital's fall databases and incident reports for the period of June 2003 to May 2004. In total, 6000 medical records from five ..