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Document Type

Thesis - University Access Only

Award Date

1990

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department / School

Graduate Nursing

First Advisor

Evelyn Peterson

Keywords

falls, accidents among hospital patients, nursing assessment, falls in old age

Abstract

An index of falls risk characteristics was designed and applied in a retrospective review of the medical charts of 106 patients who fell and 109 patients who did not fall during the first six months of 1989 in a large, upper midwestem hospital. The index was used to obtain information described patients who fall in this institution, compared the characteristics of patients who fall to the characteristics of patients who do not fall, determined relationships between selected independent variables and the risk for falls. The independent variables were age, sex, number of medications taken, types of medications taken, mental status, time of fall, and location of fall.
Using Multidimensional Chi-Square testing, the major findings at the 0.05 level of significance were: 1) there is a relationship between age and risk for falls; 2) there is a relationship between sex and risk for falls; 3)there is a relationship between number of medications taken and risk for falls; and 4) there is a relationship between mental status and risk for falls.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Falls (Accidents)
Hospital patients -- Accidents
Nursing assessment
Falls (Accidents) in old age

Format

application/pdf

Number of Pages

85

Publisher

South Dakota State University

Rights

Copyright © 1990 Clare Pittman. All rights reserved

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