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Background: Falls are common adverse events in acute care hospitals, and about 25–50% of fallers suffer injuries. In acute care, fall rates range from 0.4–9 falls per 1000 patient days, varying among unit types, patient characteristics, and diseases. Several risk factors have been identified, including recent falls, age, reduced mobility, cognitive ability and polypharmacy. Several countries have become an aging society in which an increasing number of older patients need acute care. Therefore, the prevention of falls has become one of the most important aspects of patient safety. Aim and Design: This retrospective study aimed to explore adults' inpatient falls in a Finnish university hospital with several specialties. The objectives were to draw an overall picture of fall rates in Finnish acute care, and to model risk factors for falls including secondary diagnoses. Methods: The study was conducted in a large university hospital in Finland. The data consisted of patients' electronic health records from 2014–2016 and included a total of 114,951 adult patients. Univariable and multivariable binary logistic regression model analysis was used to identify risk factors for falls and multiple imputation was used to missing data. The study reporting followed the STROBE guidelines. Results: A total of 841 falls were recorded, totalling 1.5 falls per 1000 patient days, and the rate of falls with injury was 0.4 per 1000 patient days. The regression model included the following risk factors: increasing old age, prolonged hospital stays, specialty of neurology, mode of arrival (emergency care and hospital transfer), no operation during hospital stays and secondary diagnoses such as dementia, pneumonia and alcohol abuse. Conclusions: In acute care, falls occur most in patients with neurological diagnoses and least in surgical patients. Risk factors for falls include increasing age, emergency arrival, hospital transfer and prolonged hospital stay. Relevance to Clinical Practice: Educational interventions to improve healthcare professionals' competence and preventive interventions to avoid inpatient falls need to be prioritized in medical specialties with high fall rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pressure injures are a common adverse event in a hospital, and they are one of the most important quality indicators of patient care. Risk assessment is recommended as the first step in the prevention of pressure injuries. A Prevent Pressure Injury Risk Assessment Tool is a new tool for risk assessment that was developed by the Helsinki University Hospital. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive validity and the concurrent validity of the Prevent Pressure Injury Risk Assessment Tool in acute care. Method: The prospective observational study was conducted in 19 in-patient wards representing internal medicine, neurology, and surgery during 2017–2018. The participants' inclusion criteria were: age ≥18 years old, no pressure injury on admission to the hospital and consenting to participate. The data collected by physical assessment of patients was combined with data from electronic patient records. Each patient was assessed by two different nurses with the Prevent Pressure Injury Risk Assessment Tool and the Braden Scale at patient admission. Furthermore, skin condition was observed throughout the hospital stay. Results: Of the 637 patients accepted for the study, 10 (1.6%) developed a pressure injury during the hospital stay. Poisson regression analysis showed that pressure injuries were more likely in high–risk patients compared to those with low-risk. The sensitivity of the Prevent Pressure Injury Risk Assessment Tool was adequate (75%), while specificity was poor (40%). A moderate correlation was found between the Prevent Pressure Injury Risk Assessment Tool and the Braden Scale. Conclusions: The Prevent Pressure Injury Risk Assessment Tool may be useful for identifying the adult pressure injury risk patients in acute care. Further research is needed to evaluate interrater reliability, and usability and validity with different patient populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To describe the quality of care for older cancer patients in acute care settings as perceived by the responsible nursing staff. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used. Data were collected using a questionnaire completed by 90 nursing staff at a university hospital and a city hospital. Quality of care was measured using the Revised Humane Caring Scale. Descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, nonparametric tests and linear regression analysis were used to analyse the data. Findings: Generally, the nursing staff perceived the quality of care as good; however, university hospital nursing staff perceived the quality of care to be better than city hospital nursing staff. Compared with other age groups, nursing staff in the 30- to 40-year age group more frequently indicated that patients' information and participation need improvement. Moreover, supplemental education in cancer care was found to have no significant impact on the quality of care. Altogether, nursing staff disagreed the most about their perceptions of staffing, sufficient time and an unhurried atmosphere. Conclusion: Nursing staff should focus more on patients' personal needs, particularly with regard to patients' provision of information and participation in care. Younger nurses need more support and mentoring about complex care from their experienced colleagues when performing their work. Leaders should guarantee availability of the adequate number of competent staff in hospital wards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims This study sought to analyse relationships between nurse staffing and patients' length of stay in acute care units and to determine whether non-linear relationships exist between variables. Background Healthcare systems are complex and it could be assumed that they comprise non-linear associations. However, current planning and evaluation of nurse staffing are based primary on linear reasoning. Design This quantitative study adopted a retrospective longitudinal design. Method Retrospective register data, consisting of information relating to 35,306 patient episodes and administrative information concerning 381 nurses, were used. Data were collected in 2009 from 20 somatic inpatient units at a university hospital in Finland as a monthly time series of 2008 data and analysed using Bayesian dependency modelling. Results Patients' acuity was the most important agent that connected all eleven variables in the dependency network of nurse staffing and short length of stay. Non-linear associations were found between short length of stay and the proportion of Registered Nurses. Skill mix consisting of an average proportion of Registered Nurses (65-80%) was conducive to a short length of stay and predicted a 66% likelihood of short length of stay. Higher and lower percentages of Registered Nurses predicted lower likelihood of short length of stay. Conclusion Flexible nurse staffing is preferable to fixed staffing to provide patients with shorter length of stay in acute care units. In the present research, the Bayesian method revealed non-linear relationships between nurse staffing and patient and care outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives. To describe the analgesic use in hip fracture patients with dementia during the first two postoperative days as reported by nurses. Background. Nurses play a pivotal role in treating postoperative pain in patients with dementia and monitoring the effects of administered analgesics. Design. Cross-sectional descriptive questionnaire study in seven university hospitals and 10 central hospitals in Finland. Methods. The study was conducted from March until May in 2011 in Finland. For this analysis, the focus was on the sample of nurses (n = 269) who were working in orthopaedic units. Analgesics were classified according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System. Nonparametric tests were applied to find out the significant differences between analgesic use and different hospitals. Results. Paracetamol and strong opioids administered orally or parenterally seemed to be the most typical of postoperatively used types of analgesics in patients with dementia. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics and weak opioids were also commonly reported to be in use. There were no statistically significant differences between hospitals in typical daily doses. The majority of the nurses reported that the primary aim of postoperative pain management in hip fracture patients with dementia was 'slight pain, which does not prevent normal functioning' (72%). Conclusion. The pharmacological postoperative pain treatment in acute care was commonly based on the use of strong opioids and paracetamol in hip fracture patients with dementia. The reported use of transdermal opioids and codeine combination warrants further examination. Further studies are also needed to find out whether the pain is appropriately and adequately treated. Relevance to clinical practice. Transdermal opioids and codeine combination may not be relevant analgesics for acute pain management in older adults. It is important to create a balance between sufficient pain relief and adverse effects of analgesics to allow early mobilisation and functional recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]