Fall Prevention: Identifying the Most Effective Fall Scale Model

Abstract

The purpose of this literature review is to examine the current fall scale assessment tools to determine if one scale is more effective at identifying those patients in the acute care setting who will fall. Injuries from falls is the fifth most common cause of death in acute care adult inpatient facilities (Mha et al., 2012). Over 84 % of all adverse events which occur in the hospital setting have been associated with falls (Gallardo et al., 2012). Five research articles were utilized to find which scale, if any, should be used. Three articles found that the Hendrich II model is the most effective scale and two articles concluded that there needs to be a new fall scale created. After examining the results, the Hendrich II is found to be more clinically reliable, thus it is evident that using this assessment tool would be best practice in decreasing falls while modifications need to be considered as the complexity of patient diagnoses and patient care evolves.