Crandall ML, Nathens AB, Rivara FP. Injury patterns among female trauma patients: Recognizing intentional injury. The Journal of Trauma. 2004;57(1):42-45.

This article describes a study in which the objective was to identify patterns of injury consistent with intentional injury in female trauma patients admitted to the hospital. The authors found that women with blunt intentional trauma exhibited very different injury patterns than those hospitalized for motor vehicle collisions or falls.

Pryor DB, Tolchin SF, Hendrich A, Thomas CS, Tersigni AR. The clinical transformation of Ascension Health: Eliminating all preventable injuries and deaths. Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. 2006 June;32(6):299-308.

In 2002 Ascension Health, a 67-hospital not-for-profit health care system, embarked on a journey of clinical transformation to eliminate preventable injuries or deaths. This transformational change implies a much greater pace of change than that reflected in traditional, incremental change processes. Their improvement activities focused on eight priorities for action: JCAHO National Patient Safety Goals; preventable mortality; adverse drug events; falls; pressure ulcers; surgical complications; nosocomial infections; and perinatal safety. [This article is the first in a series.]

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Donaldson N, Brown DS, Aydin CE, Bolton ML, Rutledge DN. Leveraging nurse-related dashboard benchmarks to expedite performance improvement and document excellence. Journal of Nursing Administration. 2005;35(4):163-172.

The article provides an overview of aggregated trends and benchmarks gleaned from the California Nursing Outcome Coalition acute care database for two established nurse-related quality indicators: patient falls incidence and hospital-acquired pressure ulcer prevalence. Integrating these acute-care benchmarks into clinical dashboards can be invaluable to clinicians, administrators, and policy makers who share a common commitment to expediting evidence-based improvement in patient care safety, outcomes, and excellence.

Grenier-Sennelier C, Lombard I, Jeny-Loeper C, Maillet-Gouret MC, Minvielle E. Designing adverse event prevention programs using quality management methods: the case of falls in hospital. International Journal for Quality in Health Care. 2002 Oct;(14)5:419-426.

From a public health perspective, the effectiveness of any prevention program depends on integrated medical and managerial strategies. In this way, quality management methods drawn from organization and business management can help design prevention programs. The aim of this study was to analyze the potential value of these methods in the specific context of preventing falls in hospital.

Grenier-Sennelier C, Lombard I, Jeny-Loeper C, Maillet-Gouret MC, Minvielle E. Designing adverse event prevention programs using quality management methods: The case of falls in hospitals. International Journal for Quality in Health Care. 2002;14(5):419-426.

The aim of this study was to analyze the potential value of quality improvement methods in the specific context of preventing falls in hospital.

Hendrich AL, Bender, PS, Nyhuis A. Validation of the Hendrich II Fall Risk Model: A large concurrent case/control study of hospitalized patients. Applied Nursing Research. 2003;16(1):9-21.

This large case/control study of fall and non-fall patients, in an acute care tertiary facility, was designed to concurrently test the Hendrich Fall Risk Model. The result of the study is an easy to use validated Hendrich Fall Risk Model with eight assessment parameters for high-risk fall identification tested in acute care environments.

Agostini JV, Baker DI, Bogardus ST. "Prevention of Falls in Hospitalized and Institutionalized Older People." Chapter In: Making Health Care Safer: A Critical Analysis of Patient Safety Practices. Evidence Report/Technology Assessment: Number 43. AHRQ Publication No. 01-E058. Rockville, Maryland: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; July 2001.

Despite the common occurrence of falls as one of the most common incidents reported in hospital settings, there are few hospital or other institution-based randomized controlled trails of falls interventions. Chapter 26 of this AHRQ report briefly evaluates five prominent falls prevention programs among community-dwelling and hospitalized elders. The programs are evaluated based on the opportunities for impact, evidence for effectiveness, potential for harm, and implementation costs.

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Deery HA, Day LM, Fildes BN. An impact evaluation of a falls prevention program among older people. Accident Analysis and Prevention. 2000 May;32(3):427-433.

This article provides an assessment of the impact of peer-presented education sessions on falls-related attitude, knowledge, and behavior of older people. The results explain the major benefit in providing education programs, with voluntary attendance, in reducing falls and increasing fall awareness and prevention among the elderly.

Christmas C, Andersen RA. Exercise and older patients: Guidelines for the clinician. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2000 Mar;48(3):318-324.

This article provides a basic overview of the benefits of exercise in the geriatric population and guidelines indicating how to prescribe and facilitate adherence to an exercise program. Health care providers are strongly encouraged to promote a less sedentary lifestyle for older patients, which may augment quality of life in these older individuals.

Carter ND, Kannus P, Khan KM. Exercise in the prevention of falls in older people: A systematic literature review examining the rationale and the evidence. Sports Medicine. 2001;31(6):427–438.

On the basis of nine randomized controlled studies conducted since 1996, exercise appears to enhance fall prevention in older adults, significantly reducing the incidence of falls compared with control groups. Current limitations such as inconsistencies in the measurement of key dependent and independent variables do not, at present, permit a meta-analysis of intervention trials.