Technology Supported Improvement, Management and Prevention of Accidental Falls in Hospitals
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- This is an observational study: the protocol does not assign a study treatment.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Accidental Falls, Fall Prevention. Basic parameters: from 18 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- United Kingdom
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Overview
The student will observe fall prevention systems in practice in 2 different hospitals considering how fall prevention technology influences staff behaviour and patients safety in the context of accidental falls in hospital. Accidental falls in hospital are rare but can be life changing for those that suffer them as they are often frail patients who are already vulnerable. Current research shows little improvement with any interventions tested which leaves patient facing clinicians with few resources to assist in the prevention of falls. The investigator believes this is because the measure of accidental falls in hospital is not sensitive enough to calibrate for the different contexts in which patients fall. The student would posit that it is the context that is most influential and addressing the context may lead to improved measures so progress can be made in finding solutions.
Detailed description
The multi-centre study will involve up to 2 wards on each of the 2 Trust sites. The study wards will be randomly selected from a group of wards that have indicated they are happy to be considered as potential research wards. An ethnographic case study with contextual enquiry design will be used to allow a contextual analysis of fall prevention in practice and consider how staff decisions and behaviour contribute to this. Hierarchical task analysis (HTA) will be utilised to inform this and to identify differences between 'work as imagined' compared to 'work as done' . The study will use observations of the staff in clinical practice using their current system of fall prevention measures assisted by their existing technology and will illustrate outcomes with specific and transparent definitions. Calculations of falls occurring measured with local live data will compare with current standard measurements (Falls/1000 occupied bed days) as calculated with central occupancy data. The ward team, patients and relatives attending the wards will have an opportunity to complete a questionnaire about the use of fall prevention technology advertised in the ward environment on fliers and posters as permitted by policy. Recommendations for future technology design, research and use of technology in fall prevention will be provided on conclusion of the study.
Primary outcome measures
- To discover how work practice and behaviour adheres or varies from policy [Time frame: 12 months]
- To collate evidence of the context of falls in a context log to identify potential contributory factors to accidental falls in hospital. [Time frame: 12 months]
- To discover how accidental falls are being measured and recorded in hospital by observation and comparing live data measurement against standard data measurement. [Time frame: 12 months]
Secondary outcome measures (2)
- To identify through thematic analysis using Nvivo 15 task critical attributes and user requirements for future fall prevention technology design [Time frame: 12 months]
- Staff interviews [Time frame: 12 months]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Any member of the ward team as defined by the ward manager including students. All healthcare professional groups, ancillary and administrative staff who work on the selected study ward and any temporary staff from agency or other wards who consent to participate.
Exclusion criteria
- Any staff under 18 years old
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Observational model
- Ecologic or community
Study locations
United Kingdom · 1 center
- University Hospitals of Leicester — Leicester
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07355556 · 25057