Knowledge, attitudes on falls and awareness of hospitalized patient's fall risk factors among the nurses working in Tertiary Care Hospitals

Kavin Mozhi James; Divya Ravikumar; Sindhura Myneni; Poonguzhali Sivagananam; Poongodi Chellapandian; Rejili Grace Joy Manickaraj; Yuvasree Sargunan; Sai Ravi Teja Kamineni; Vishnu Priya Veeraraghavan; Malathi Kullappan; Surapaneni Krishna Mohan; Kavin Mozhi James; Divya Ravikumar; Sindhura Myneni; Poonguzhali Sivagananam; Poongodi Chellapandian; Rejili Grace Joy Manickaraj; Yuvasree Sargunan; Sai Ravi Teja Kamineni; Vishnu Priya Veeraraghavan; Malathi Kullappan; Surapaneni Krishna Mohan

doi:10.3934/medsci.2022013

AIMS Medical Science

2022, Volume 9, Issue 2: 304-321. doi: 10.3934/medsci.2022013

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Research article

Knowledge, attitudes on falls and awareness of hospitalized patient's fall risk factors among the nurses working in Tertiary Care Hospitals

1.
Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, Panimalar College of Nursing, Varadharajapuram, Poonamallee, Chennai—600 123, Tamil Nadu, India
2.
Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Panimalar Medical College Hospital & Research Institute, Varadharajapuram, Poonamallee, Chennai—600 123, Tamil Nadu, India
3.
Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecological Nursing, Panimalar College of Nursing, Varadharajapuram, Poonamallee, Chennai—600 123, Tamil Nadu, India
4.
Department of Mental Health Nursing, Panimalar College of Nursing, Varadharajapuram, Poonamallee, Chennai—600 123, Tamil Nadu, India
5.
Department of Computer Sciences, Panimalar Institute of Technology, Varadharajapuram, Poonamallee, Chennai—600 123, Tamil Nadu, India
6.
Department of Tuberculosis & Respiratory Diseases, Panimalar Medical College Hospital & Research Institute, Varadharajapuram, Poonamallee, Chennai—600 123, Tamil Nadu, India
7.
Department of Biochemistry, Saveetha Dental College & Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical & Technical Sciences (SIMATS), Saveetha University, Velappanchavadi, Chennai—600 077, Tamil Nadu, India
8.
Department of Research, Panimalar Medical College Hospital & Research Institute, Varadharajapuram, Poonamallee, Chennai—600 123, Tamil Nadu, India
9.
Department of Biochemistry, Medical Education, Clinical Skills & Simulation, Molecular Virology, Research, Panimalar Medical College Hospital & Research Institute, Varadharajapuram, Poonamallee, Chennai—600 123, Tamil Nadu, India

Received: 26 December 2021 Revised: 09 April 2022 Accepted: 13 April 2022 Published: 27 April 2022

Background
Fall is the most common patient safety incident in health care organizations. This study was initiated to obtain information regarding knowledge & attitude on falls and awareness of fall risk factors among nurses to device evidence-based and multidisciplinary educational and training programs to improve patient safety and thereby reduce morbidity and mortality associated with falls.

Methods
A descriptive cross-sectional survey study was conducted among 339 registered nurses working in Tertiary care hospitals across Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. A modified version of the previously validated standard questionnaire was administered by the investigators through an online survey method to explore the level of knowledge & attitude on falls and awareness of inpatient fall risk factors among Nurses.

Results
In this study, 15.6% of participants had adequate knowledge of falls, 57.2% had a favorable attitude towards falls and 38.3% had adequate awareness of fall risk factors. Years of experience in nursing has a statistically significant association with the level of knowledge on fall. The participant's attitude towards falls had a statistically significant relationship with age, education, experience in nursing, and previous patient fall experience. The correlation between fall knowledge, the attitude toward falls, and awareness of fall risk factors were highly significant. The majority of the participants expressed their favorable attitude toward the need for fall preventive education.

Conclusion
In our study, it is evident that there is a void that has to be filled to improve the knowledge, attitude, and awareness of falls and their risk factors. There is a need for extensive education and holistic, multifactorial, and interdisciplinary training program to be undertaken through various health care organizations.
- fall,
- fall risk factors,
- hospitalized patient,
- awareness
Citation: Kavin Mozhi James, Divya Ravikumar, Sindhura Myneni, Poonguzhali Sivagananam, Poongodi Chellapandian, Rejili Grace Joy Manickaraj, Yuvasree Sargunan, Sai Ravi Teja Kamineni, Vishnu Priya Veeraraghavan, Malathi Kullappan, Surapaneni Krishna Mohan. Knowledge, attitudes on falls and awareness of hospitalized patient's fall risk factors among the nurses working in Tertiary Care Hospitals[J]. AIMS Medical Science, 2022, 9(2): 304-321. doi: 10.3934/medsci.2022013

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Abstract

Background

Fall is the most common patient safety incident in health care organizations. This study was initiated to obtain information regarding knowledge & attitude on falls and awareness of fall risk factors among nurses to device evidence-based and multidisciplinary educational and training programs to improve patient safety and thereby reduce morbidity and mortality associated with falls.

Methods

A descriptive cross-sectional survey study was conducted among 339 registered nurses working in Tertiary care hospitals across Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. A modified version of the previously validated standard questionnaire was administered by the investigators through an online survey method to explore the level of knowledge & attitude on falls and awareness of inpatient fall risk factors among Nurses.

Results

In this study, 15.6% of participants had adequate knowledge of falls, 57.2% had a favorable attitude towards falls and 38.3% had adequate awareness of fall risk factors. Years of experience in nursing has a statistically significant association with the level of knowledge on fall. The participant's attitude towards falls had a statistically significant relationship with age, education, experience in nursing, and previous patient fall experience. The correlation between fall knowledge, the attitude toward falls, and awareness of fall risk factors were highly significant. The majority of the participants expressed their favorable attitude toward the need for fall preventive education.

Conclusion

In our study, it is evident that there is a void that has to be filled to improve the knowledge, attitude, and awareness of falls and their risk factors. There is a need for extensive education and holistic, multifactorial, and interdisciplinary training program to be undertaken through various health care organizations.

Acknowledgments

We are thankful to Dr. S. Porchelvan, MSc, MBA, PGDCA, PhD, Professor in Biostatistics for assisting with the statistical analyses.

Availability of data and material

The data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Authors' contributions

Conceptualisation: SKM; Methodology: Investigation: KMJ and SKM; KMJ, DR, SM, PS, YS, VPV: contributed to data curation, validation, visualization; PC, RGJM, SRTK, VPV: contributed to formal analysis, validation, visualization; KMJ and SKM: contributed to writing the Original Draft of the Manuscript; MK and SKM: Contributed to Writing–Review and Editing of the Manuscript; SKM: Supervision and Project Administration; KMJ, DR, SM, PS, PC, RGJM, YS, SRTK, VPV, MK & SKM: All authors reviewed the manuscript and approved the submitted manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Conflicts of interests

All the authors declare no conflict of interest.

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