Decreasing Falls Through Increasing Patient and Family Compliance with Fall Prevention Strategies on a Medical Oncology Unit

A high percentage of the patient falls on our unit were related to patient failure to comply with nursing requests to call for assistance before standing independently. Evidence shows that patients consistently underestimate their fall risk, believe that they have a decreased risk of falling while hospitalized, and are reluctant to call for assistance. Despite the importance of patient adherence to falls protocols, the content and extent of falls prevention education was left largely to the discretion of individual nurses on our unit. Minimal education provided to staff about what to include in fall prevention education; heavy reliance on signage with platitudes such as "call don't fall.