Evaluation of the usefulness and understandability of information leaflets on fall prevention from the perspective of hospital patients and their relatives.

Background: Falls are a major problem among adults over 60 years. Multiple preventive measures must be taken. Written information leaflets can support the knowledge transfer and positively influence recall of the information provided.
Objective: The aim was to ensure usefulness and understandability of the information leaflets on home fall prevention from the target groups' perspective.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey study with a feedback questionnaire for patients and relatives was conducted at a university hospital in Austria. Quantitative data analysis and qualitative content analysis according to Schreier were performed.
Results: The majority (63.9%) of patients rated the overall impression as "very good". 44.2% of the relatives rated it as "very good" and 23% as "good". The question "appealing design" was the only one with a statistically significant difference between patients and relatives. Subgroup analysis has shown a statistically significant difference between educational groups regarding the questions "easy to read" and "easy to understand".
Conclusion: It could be shown that the information leaflets were already well tailored to the target group. The few comments regarding understandability were considered to improve the content of the information leaflets. A further evaluation regarding the benefit of the fall prevention leaflets in discharge management should be performed.
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