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 .
Evaluation of the STRATIFY falls prediction tool on a geriatric unit.
Accurate prediction of fall-prone hospitalized older adults may be integral to reducing falls . The STRATIFY , a simple 5-point falls prediction tool , was prospect ively vali date d on a Geriatric Assessment and Rehabilitation Unit as a one-time initial predictor of patients likely to fall . Sensitivity and specificity were lower than in the original British study . Introducing risk assessment s vali date d elsewhere on a patient care unit or on a hospital-wide scale requires caution
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 .