An opportunistic evaluation of a routine service improvement project to reduce falls in hospital.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Preventing falls in hospital is a perennial patient safety issue. The University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire initiated a programme to train ward staff in accordance with guidelines. The National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care West Midlands was asked to expedite an independent evaluation of the initiative. We set out to describe the intervention to implement the guidelines and to evaluate it by means of a step-wedge cluster study using routinely collected data.

Methods

The evaluation was set up as a partially randomised, step-wedge cluster study, but roll-out across wards was more rapid than planned. The study was therefore analysed as a time-series. Primary outcome was rate of falls per 1000 Oc

SUBMITTER: Sheppard D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7821491 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature