Nurses' Knowledge and Practices about Fall Prevention among Elderly Women: Impact of Socio-demographic Characteristics

Research Abstract

Background: Elderly is a natural process, which starts with intrauterine life, continues until death and is caused by irreversible degeneration of cells and systems. For older adults, falls can be especially serious, are at higher risk of falling. Also are more likely to fracture (break) a bone when fall, especially if have osteoporosis. Aim of Study: impact of socio-demographic characteristics on nurses' knowledge and practices regarding fall prevention among elderly women. Research design: An exploratory design Setting: Outpatient Clinics at Beni-Suef University Hospital. Sample: A cross sectional sampling composed from 100 nurses. Tool: Self-administered Questionnaire consists of 3 parts. (I): Personal characteristics of nurses, (II): Knowledge assessment sheet, (III): Nurses’ practices checklist, Results: The mean age of the study sample was 35.24±1.02 years, 62.0% have good level of total knowledge about fall prevention among the elderly during hospitalization, and 61.0% are competent in fall prevention total practices. A highly statistically significant relation between total knowledge of the studied nurses about fall prevention among the elderly during hospitalization and their age, educational qualification, years of experience and training were found (p<0.05). Conclusion: A highly statistically significant relation between total practices of the studied nurses in fall prevention among the elderly women during hospitalization and their educational qualification, years of experience and training with. As well, a statistically significant relation is found with their Age and Gender was found. Moreover, a highly significant positive correlation between the studied nurses' Total practice and Total knowledge was found. Recommendation: Encourage nurses to integrate evidence-based practices into their daily routines by staying updated with the latest research and guidelines related to fall prevention in elderly patients.

Research Keywords

fall; nurses’ knowledge; practice; older adult