Review Article
Factors Contributing to Psychiatric Patient Falls
Abraham S*Department of Health Administration, Bethel College, Mishawaka, Indiana, US
- *Corresponding Author:
- Sam Abraham, DHA, RN
Doctor of Health Administration
Bethel College, Mishawaka, Indiana, United States
E-mail: abrahams383@att.net
Received date: Jan 05, 2016; Accepted date: Apr 09, 2016; Published date: Apr 15, 2016
Citation: Abraham S (2016) Factors Contributing to Psychiatric Patient Falls. J Community Med Health 6:410. doi:10.4172/2161-0711.1000410
Copyright: © 2016 Abraham S. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
The purpose of this literature review was to identify studies and other literature about patient falls and to investigate the factors contributing to psychiatric inpatient falls. Studies on patient falls among psychiatric patients are scarce compared to research conducted on medical-surgical and community-dwelling patients. Falls related to the intrinsic, and extrinsic factors are identified, and potential interventions are discussed. It is evident from the review that falls incur financial burden and decreases the quality of life for the patient. Fall risk assessment tools have not been very helpful. The most common factors for fall risk are multiple medications, confusion, unsteady gait, and history of falls. Reduction in patient falls can be accomplished using a multifactorial assessment and team intervention.