Heterogeneity between studies indicates that the Morse Falls Scale and STRATIFY may still be useful in particular setting s , but that widespread adoption of either is unlikely to generate benefits significantly greater than that of nursing staff clinical judgment
INTRODUCTION Fall risk screening tools are frequently used as a part of falls prevention programs in hospitals .
Design -related bias in evaluations of tool predictive accuracy could lead to overoptimistic results , which would then contribute to program failure in practice .
A new instrument for targeting falls prevention interventions was accurate and clinically applicable in a hospital setting.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE To describe the diagnostic accuracy and practical application of the Peter James Centre Falls Risk Assessment Tool ( PJC-FRAT ) , a multidisciplinary falls risk screening and intervention deployment instrument . METHODS In phase 1 , the accuracy of the PJC-FRAT was prospect ively compared to a gold st and ard ( the STRATIFY ) on a cohort of subacute hospital patients ( n = 122 ) . In phase 2 , the PJC-FRAT was temporally reassessed using a subsequent cohort ( n = 316 ) , with results compared to those of phase 1 . Primary outcomes were falls ( events ) , fallers ( patients who fell ) , and hospital completion rates of the PJC-FRAT . RESULTS In phase 1 , PJC-FRAT accuracy of identifying fallers showed sensitivity of 73 % ( bootstrap 95 % confidence interval CI = 55 , 90 ) and specificity of 75 % ( 95 % CI = 66 , 83 ) , compared with the STRATIFY ( cutoff > or = 2/5 ) sensitivity of 77 % ( 95 % CI = 59 , 92 ) and specificity of 51 % ( 95 % CI = 41 , 61 ) . This difference was not significant . In phase 2 , accuracy of nursing staff using the PJC-FRAT was lower .  PJC-FRAT completion rates varied among disciplines over both phases : nurses and physiotherapists , > or = 90 % ; occupational therapists , > or = 82 % ; and medical officers , > or = 57 % . CONCLUSION The PJC-FRAT was practical and relatively accurate as a predictor of falls and a deployment instrument for falls prevention interventions , although continued staff education may be necessary to maintain its accuracy
Heterogeneity between studies indicates that the Morse Falls Scale and STRATIFY may still be useful in particular setting s , but that widespread adoption of either is unlikely to generate benefits significantly greater than that of nursing staff clinical judgment
INTRODUCTION Fall risk screening tools are frequently used as a part of falls prevention programs in hospitals .
Design -related bias in evaluations of tool predictive accuracy could lead to overoptimistic results , which would then contribute to program failure in practice .