Cent Eur J Nurs Midw 2019, 10(2):1019-1025 | DOI: 10.15452/CEJNM.2019.10.0009

The effect of educational intervention by nurses on home environmental risk factors for falls

Pavlína Tiefenbachová1, Renáta Zeleníková2,*
1 Caritas Czech Republic, ©ternberk, Czech Republic
2 Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava, Czech Republic

Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess the incidence of environmental safety hazards in the homes of people aged 65 years and above, and to evaluate the effect of an educational intervention by nurses on the incidence of home environmental risk factors for falls, and on the perception of the safety of the home environment.

Design: The study was a non-randomized single-arm pre-post intervention study.

Methods: The sample consisted of 106 elderly patients living in their homes in the Czech Republic. The intervention involved individual education about home hazards, including the provision of a free educational leaflet and emergency call sticker, and advice regarding home environment modification and safety devices.

Results: A statistically significant difference was found in the number of risk factors before and after the intervention (p < 0.001). After the intervention the elderly subjects perceived their home environment as being less safe than they had before.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that home environmental risk factors for falls can be reduced by a well-prepared educational intervention.

Keywords: accidental fall, education, elderly, home environment, risk factor

Received: September 26, 2018; Accepted: February 26, 2019; Published: September 30, 2019  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Tiefenbachová P, Zeleníková R. The effect of educational intervention by nurses on home environmental risk factors for falls. Central European Journal of Nursing and Midwifery. 2019;10(2):1019-1025. doi: 10.15452/CEJNM.2019.10.0009.
Download citation

References

  1. Akyol AD. Falls in the elderly: what can be done? International Nursing Review. 2007;54(2):191-196. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  2. Bóriková, I, Tomagová M, ®iaková K. Rizikové faktory pádu u hospitalizovaných pacientov. Praktický lékař. 2017;97(1):23-30. (in Slovak)
  3. Bóriková, I, Tomagová M, ®iaková K, Miertová M. Pharmacotherapy as a fall risk factor. Central European Journal of Nursing and Midwifery. 2018;9(2):832-839. Go to original source...
  4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Check for safety: a home fall prevention checklist for older adults. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2017 [cited 2018 Sep 25]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/steadi/pdf/STEADI-BrochureCheckForSafety-508.pdf
  5. Clemson L, Mackenzie L, Ballinger C, Close JC, Cumming RG. Environmental interventions to prevent falls in community-dwelling older people: a meta-analysis of randomized trials. Journal of Aging and Health. 2008;20(8):954-971. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  6. Dingová M, Králová E. Fear of falling among community dwelling older adults. Central European Journal of Nursing and Midwifery. 2017;8(1):580-587. Go to original source...
  7. Fabio F, Chaudhury H. Falls and the physical environment: a review and a new multifactorial falls-risk conceptual framework. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy. 2008;75(2):82-95. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  8. Gillespie LD, Robertson MC, Gillespie WJ, Sherrington C, Gates S, Clemson LM, Lamb SE. Interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community. Cochrane Database Systematic Reviews. 2012;9:CD007146. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  9. Hignett S, Edmuns Otter M, Keen C. Safety risks associated with physical interactions between patients and caregivers during treatment and care delivery in Home Care settings: a systematic review. International Journal of Nursing Studies. 2016;59:1-14. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  10. Keall MD, Pierse N, Howden-Chapman P, Cunningham C, Cunningham M, Guria J, Baker MG. Home modifications to reduce injuries from falls in the Home Injury Prevention Intervention (HIPI) study: a cluster-randomized control trial. Lancet. 2015;385(9964):231-238. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  11. Lord SR, Menz HB, Sherrington C. Home environment risk factors for falls in older people and the efficacy of home modifications. Age and Ageing. 2006;35(Suppl 2):ii55-ii59. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  12. Minesota safety council. Fall prevention home safety checklist. What you can do to prevent falls. Minesota safety council; 2004 [cited 2018 Sept 25]. Available from: http://www.minnesotasafetycouncil.org/seniorsafe/fallcheck.pdf
  13. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Falls. Assessment and prevention of falls in older people. NICE clinical guideline 161. NICE; 2013 [cited 2018 Jun 26]. Available from: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg161/evidence/falls-fullguidance-190033741
  14. Newton RA. Prevention of falls at home: Home hazard and safety assessment and management. Annals of Long Term Care. 2006;14(11):28-33.
  15. Pi H-Y, Hu M-M, Zhang J, Peng P-P, Nie D. Circumstances of falls and and fall-related injuries among frail elderly under home care in China. International Journal of Nursing Science. 2015;2(3):237-242. Go to original source...
  16. Ritchey KC, Meyer D, Ice GH. Non-therapist identification of falling hazards in older adult homes using digital photography. Preventive Medicine Reports. 2015;2:794-797. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  17. Sjösten NM, Salonoja M, Piirtola M, Vahlberg T, Isoaho R, Hyttinen H, Aarnio P, Kivelä SL. A multifactorial fall prevention programme in home-dwelling elderly people: a randomized-controlled trial. Public Health. 2007;121(4):308- 318. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  18. Stevens JA, Olson SJ. Check for safety: a home fall prevention checklist for older adults. National center for injury prevention and control. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 1999 [cited 2018 Sept 15]. Available from: http://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/11321/
  19. Turner S, Arthur G, Lyons RA, Weightman AL, Mann MK, Jones SJ, John A, Lannon S. Modification of the home environment for the reduction of injuries. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2011;2:CD003600. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  20. World Health Organizations (WHO). WHO Global report on falls prevention in older age. WHO; 2007.
  21. Wyman JF, Croghan CF, Nachreiner NM, Gross CR, Stock HH, Talley K, Monigold M. Effectiveness of education and individualized counseling in reducing environmental hazards in the homes of community-dwelling older women. Journal of American Geriatric Society. 2007;55(10):1548-1556. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  22. Zeleníková R, Kozáková R, Jaroąová D. Prevence pádů seniorů - výsledky hodnocení systematických přehledů. Praktický lékař. 2016;96(2):91-95. (in Czech)

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.