Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38754884›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2024

Risk-adjusted trend in national inpatient fall rates observed from 2011 to 2019 in acute care hospitals in Switzerland: a repeated multicentre cross-sectional study.

Niklaus S Bernet, Irma H J Everink, Sabine Hahn, Marianne Müller, Jos M G A Schols

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Niklaus S BernetSchool of Health Professions, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Bern, Switzerland niklausstefan.bernet@bfh.ch.ORCID 0000-0001-6478-1326
Irma H J EverinkDepartment of Health Services Research, Maastricht University; Care and Public Health Research Institute, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Sabine HahnSchool of Health Professions, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Bern, Switzerland.
Marianne MüllerSchool of Health Professions, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Bern, Switzerland.
Jos M G A ScholsDepartment of Health Services Research, Maastricht University; Care and Public Health Research Institute, Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThis study aimed to investigate whether a significant trend regarding inpatient falls in Swiss acute care hospitals between 2011 and 2019 could be confirmed on a national level, and whether the trend persists after risk adjustment for patient-related fall risk factors.

designA secondary data analysis was conducted based on annual multicentre cross-sectional studies carried out between 2011 and 2019.

settingAll Swiss acute care hospitals were obliged to participate in the surveys. Except for emergency departments, outpatient wards and recovery rooms, all wards were included.

participantsAll inpatients aged 18 or older who had given their informed consent and whose data were complete and available were included. OUTCOME MEASURE: Whether a patient had fallen in the hospital was retrospectively determined on the survey day by asking patients the following question: Have you fallen in this institution in the last 30 days?

resultsBased on data from 110 892 patients from 222 Swiss hospitals, a national inpatient fall rate of 3.7% was determined over the 9 survey years. A significant linear decreasing trend (p=0.004) was observed using the Cochran-Armitage trend test. After adjusting for patient-related fall risk factors in a two-level random intercept logistic regression model, a significant non-linear decreasing trend was found at the national level.

conclusionsA significant decrease in fall rates in Swiss hospitals, indicating an improvement in the quality of care provided, could be confirmed both descriptively and after risk adjustment. However, the non-linear trend, that is, an initial decrease in inpatient falls that flattens out over time, also indicates a possible future increase in fall rates. Monitoring of falls in hospitals should be maintained at the national level. Risk adjustment accounts for the observed increase in patient-related fall risk factors in hospitals, thus promoting a fairer comparison of the quality of care provided over time.

Indexed as

Accidental FallsAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHospitalsHumansInpatientsLogistic ModelsMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesRisk AdjustmentRisk Factorshospitalsnursing carequality in health carerisk factors

Identifiers

PMID38754884
PMCPMC11097859

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.