Dados do Trabalho

Título

STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING FALLS IN AN ONCOLOGY INPATIENT UNIT.

Introdução

A fall is defined as an “unintentional event that results in a change in the individual's position to a lower level in relation to his or her initial position. According to the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA), in Brazil, the fall is one of the most reported preventable adverse events in the country. Patients hospitalized for cancer have even higher rates of falls, with a higher rate of injury and greater severity when compared to hospitalized patients who do not have cancer. In socioeconomic terms, falls and their consequences entail costs for everyone. According to the Wall Street Journal, fall injury treatment costs in the United States are $1.08 billion a year, or approximately $15 to $30,000 per fall.

Objetivo

Given the context, this study aimed to identify the effectiveness of strategies used to reduce falls in a predominantly oncology inpatient unit.

Método

Study conducted in a 31-bed inpatient unit of a large general hospital in Brazil, which uses the Johns Hopkins Fall Risk Assessment Tool to assess the risk of falls to classify the risk of falls. Even during the months of pandemic by covid-19, the occupation of the oncology unit kept more than 89% of beds occupied, compared to occupation in 2019. The strategies were implemented in early 2020 and included: nurse model reference in the prevention of falls, in addition to providing support in cases of patient and companion resistance to adhering to fall prevention measures; presentation of the protocol to oncologists to participate in the education process of patients with low adherence to fall prevention guidelines; the activation of in-bed alarms for high-risk patients.

Resultado

There was a reduction in notifications of falls from 33 (2019) to 18 events (2020) with an average of 57.5%. Minimization was also observed in relation to the impacts of the fall, with severe damage (from 6.0% to 0.0%), moderate (from 9.0% to 5.2%), light (from 21.2% to 36.8 %) and without damage (from 63.6% to 57.8%).

Conclusão

The strategies used contributed to the reduction of events, as well as the impacts resulting from the fall.

Palavras-chave

fall prevention