Falls in Veterans Healthcare Administration Hospitals: Prevalence and Trends. Issue 3 (May 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Young-Xu, Yinong; Soncrant, Christina; Neily, Julia; Boar, Shoshana; Bulat, Tatjana; Mills, Peter D.
• Is Part Of: Journal for healthcare quality. Volume 42:Issue 3(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-05
• Subjects: falls -- fall-related major injury -- Veterans Healthcare Administration; Medical care -- Quality control -- Periodicals; Quality assurance -- Periodicals; 362.1
• DOI: 10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000215
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1062-2551

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Introduction: To provide up-to-date data on fall prevalence and trends in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) hospitals. Methods: Data were collected by the VHA Inpatient Evaluation Center (IPEC) between 2011 and 2017, to establish prevalence and trends of falls and major injuries occurring in acute care/intensive care units (AC/ICU), behavior health (BH), and community living center (CLC)/long-term care, using bed days of care (BDOC) as denominators. Results: A total of 204, 681 falls were reported (rate = 4.8 falls/1, 000 BDOC) during the study period, of which 2, 549 (1.2%) resulted in a major injury (rate = 6.0/100, 000 BDOC). Fall rates decreased over the 6-year study period for all unit types: 10% decrease for BH ( p < .0001), 9% decrease for AC/ICU ( p < .0001), and 3% decrease for CLC ( p = .0043). Major injury rates remained consistent. Conclusions: In this large descriptive study, fall and major injury rates varied by nursing unit type in VHA hospitals. Over the 6-year study period, a clinically and statistically significant decrease in fall rates for BH and AC/ICU units was observed as well as a small but statistically significant decrease in fall rates for CLC units. No trend was observed for major injury rates.