Nurses' knowledge related to prevention of falls in the elderly

Abstract

Literature and research related to prevention of falls in the elderly is abundant however there is a paucity of studies related to Nurses' knowledge on the subject. The aim of this study was to examine the knowledge of Maltese nurses working in the orthopaedic wards related to the risk factors of falls in the elderly and the prevention of falls interventions that can be adopted. A descriptive exploratory approach was used to fulfill this aim. Nurse's knowledge was assessed by using a self-administered questionnaire with both open and closed questions and the responses were compared with the literature available on prevention of falls in the elderly. Findings suggest that although there is a basic knowledge on the causes leading to falls in the elderly, other risk factors are either not known or not uniformly known amongst all nurses. There is also a lack of knowledge related to prevention of falls strategies, and provision of patient information is deficient. Recommendations based on the findings include the introduction of a Falls Prevention educational programme for nurses, the enhancement of multi-disciplinary coordination, further research on the subject using a larger sample size and the introduction of falls prevention programmes and patient education initiatives.