Interventions for preventing falls in acute- and chronic-care hospitals : a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES: To determine the characteristics and the effectiveness of hospital fall prevention programs. DESIGN: Systematic literature search of multiple databases (Medline, Cinahl, Precinahl, Invert, the Cochrane Library) and of the reference list of each identified publication. SETTING: Inclusion of prospective controlled-design studies reporting the effectiveness of fall prevention programs in hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Two reviewers. MEASUREMENTS: The methodological qualities of the studies were assessed based on 10 criteria. For the meta-analysis, the relative risk of a fall per occupied bed day (RR(fall)) and the relative risk of being a faller (RR(faller)) were calculated. RESULTS: Eight studies met the inclusion criteria, of which four studies tested multifactorial interventions. Although these studies took place in hospitals, most were conducted on long-stay (mean length of stay (LOS)