Fall Risk and Prevention in the Home

1. Knowledge: Key Mental and Physical Factors

This chapter will focus on the key mental and physical factors that impact a patient’s rehabilitation potential as well as their risk for falls in the home. Mental capabilities along with the social stigma about falls and falling can have a dramatic effect on how we can better ensure a patient’s safety. The physical factors are often hidden from us unless we use all our senses to determine just how stable our patients are in the home.

2. The Environmental Factors

This chapter will focus on the environmental factors that can trip up anyone in the home, so we want to ensure everyone’s safety. Environmental factors include both the inside and outside of the patients home as well the vehicles and equipment they utilize. We will learn how best to incorporate these factors into our assessments for the patient’s safety and best outcomes.

3. Using Measurable Tools in Your Assessment

Seeing, hearing, smelling and touching are not enough when it comes to assessing for falls. Nurses must be able to use the most appropriate assessment tools that will provide measurable data to the physician and therapy team. This data provides the validation for such added services, a baseline of the patient’s status and measurable outcomes when the treatment has been completed.

4. My Patient Needs Therapy, Now What?

Once the assessment is complete and the assessment tools have data indicating the patient is a risk for falls in the home, what’s next? The physician must be notified, and orders received for the appropriate therapy to begin. When the data is provided, this task is made much easier for everyone. This chapter will address the reporting of the results, follow up with therapy and development of the Care Plan with the patient to ensure the best outcomes.

5. Providing Education and Prevention Support?

Once the assessment has shown the risk of fall exists and the interdisciplinary team is in place, the nurse is now ready to provide education and guidance on prevention measures the patient and their caregivers can use to further help prevent the risk of falls. This chapter will cover tips, checklists and other tools to support safety in the home environment.