Research Approaches to the Prevention and Protection of Patient Falls

Since the 1970s, patient falls and, in particular, patient injuries from falls have been a concern to acute-care hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and long-term care institutions. It is estimated that annually “somewhere between 700,000 and 1,000,000 people in the United States fall in hospitals” (Ganz et al., 2013, p. 1). Approximately 5.1%* experienced a major injury; 137,255-196,078 patients per year received a major injury, such as a fracture or major head injury.