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Exploring the environment behind in-patient falls and their relation to hospital overcrowdedness—a register-based observational study

Stathopoulos, Dimitrios ; Hansson, Eva Ekvall LU and Stigmar, Kjerstin LU (2021) In International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18(20).
Abstract

(1) Background: Inpatient falls are a serious threat to patients’ safety and their extrinsic factors are, at present, insufficiently described. Additionally, hospital overcrowdedness is known for its malicious effects but its relation to the inpatient falls is currently underexplored. The aim of this study was to explore the distribution of falls and their extrinsic characteristics amongst a range of different clinics, and to explore the correlation and predictive ability of hospital overcrowding in relation to inpatient falls. (2) Methods: An observational, cross-sectional, registry-based study was conducted using retrospective data from an incidence registry of a hospital organization in Sweden during 2018. The registry provided data... (More)

(1) Background: Inpatient falls are a serious threat to patients’ safety and their extrinsic factors are, at present, insufficiently described. Additionally, hospital overcrowdedness is known for its malicious effects but its relation to the inpatient falls is currently underexplored. The aim of this study was to explore the distribution of falls and their extrinsic characteristics amongst a range of different clinics, and to explore the correlation and predictive ability of hospital overcrowding in relation to inpatient falls. (2) Methods: An observational, cross-sectional, registry-based study was conducted using retrospective data from an incidence registry of a hospital organization in Sweden during 2018. The registry provided data regarding the extrinsic factors of inpatient falls, including the clinics’ overcrowdedness. Simple descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and simple linear regression analysis were used. (3) Results: Twelve clinics were included. A total of 870 inpatient falls were registered during 2018. Overcrowdedness and total amount of falls were positively and very strongly correlated (r = 0.875, p < 0.001). Overcrowdedness was a significant predictor of the total amount of inpatient falls (p < 0.001, α = 0.05). (4) Conclusions: The characteristics regarding inpatient falls vary among the clinics. Inpatient overcrowding might have a significant role in the prevalence of inpatient falls, but further high-evidence-level studies are required.

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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Extrinsic factors, Falls, Hospital overcrowdedness, Impatient falls, Organizational factors
in
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
volume
18
issue
20
article number
10742
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • scopus:85116930825
  • pmid:34682482
ISSN
1661-7827
DOI
10.3390/ijerph182010742
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
id
3bfa0a6e-7a1b-4227-9009-83c113e2868b
date added to LUP
2021-11-12 12:38:36
date last changed
2024-04-06 12:49:37
@article{3bfa0a6e-7a1b-4227-9009-83c113e2868b,
  abstract     = {{<p>(1) Background: Inpatient falls are a serious threat to patients’ safety and their extrinsic factors are, at present, insufficiently described. Additionally, hospital overcrowdedness is known for its malicious effects but its relation to the inpatient falls is currently underexplored. The aim of this study was to explore the distribution of falls and their extrinsic characteristics amongst a range of different clinics, and to explore the correlation and predictive ability of hospital overcrowding in relation to inpatient falls. (2) Methods: An observational, cross-sectional, registry-based study was conducted using retrospective data from an incidence registry of a hospital organization in Sweden during 2018. The registry provided data regarding the extrinsic factors of inpatient falls, including the clinics’ overcrowdedness. Simple descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and simple linear regression analysis were used. (3) Results: Twelve clinics were included. A total of 870 inpatient falls were registered during 2018. Overcrowdedness and total amount of falls were positively and very strongly correlated (r = 0.875, p &lt; 0.001). Overcrowdedness was a significant predictor of the total amount of inpatient falls (p &lt; 0.001, α = 0.05). (4) Conclusions: The characteristics regarding inpatient falls vary among the clinics. Inpatient overcrowding might have a significant role in the prevalence of inpatient falls, but further high-evidence-level studies are required.</p>}},
  author       = {{Stathopoulos, Dimitrios and Hansson, Eva Ekvall and Stigmar, Kjerstin}},
  issn         = {{1661-7827}},
  keywords     = {{Extrinsic factors; Falls; Hospital overcrowdedness; Impatient falls; Organizational factors}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  number       = {{20}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}},
  title        = {{Exploring the environment behind in-patient falls and their relation to hospital overcrowdedness—a register-based observational study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182010742}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/ijerph182010742}},
  volume       = {{18}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}