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Learning Objective 1: 1. Describe a study completed on patients in progressive care to determine validity and reliability of the Morse Fall Scale.
Learning Objective 2: 2. Impact their thinking about the global issue of patient falls.
The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of the MFS and describe and correlate the factors of the MFS with falls in a sample of PCU patients at a large county hospital.
Methods
Following Institutional Review Board approval, data were collected prospectively for three months for this descriptive correlational study. Charts were reviewed for MFS scores at admission for patients meeting the inclusion criteria.
Results
A total of 913 subjects were included in the sample. Age ranged from 18 to 95 years; the majority of subjects were male and Caucasian. Twenty-four patients fell once leaving 889 nonfallers. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were calculated for each total score on the MFS. Chi-square revealed a marginally significant relationship between falling and secondary diagnosis and falling and mental status.
Discussion
Data were not sufficient to change the risk level score ranges (low, moderate, and high risk for falling); therefore, focus shifted to the relationship between falling and mental status. A review of the hospital’s interventions for each fall risk level led the researchers to notice no interventions were listed to assess the patient’s mental status or what to do next once the status was known. This information was given to the appropriate hospital committee for review.
Conclusions
On-going reviews and analysis of current prevention programs in individual units in each hospital globally are a necessary part of the process to improve patient outcomes and save dollars.