Abstract
Background: Patients with communication disability, associated with impairments of speech, language, or voice, have a three-fold increased risk of adverse events in hospital. However, little research yet examines the causal relationship between communication disability and risk for specific adverse events in hospital. Objective: To examine the impact of a patient's communication disability on their falls risk in hospital. Methods: This systematic review examined 61 studies on falls of adult hospital patients with communication disability, and patients at high risk of communication disability, to determine whether or not communication disability increased risk for falls, and the nature of and reasons for any increased risk. Results: In total, 46 of the included studies (75%) reported on participants with communication disability, and the remainder included patients with health conditions placing them at high risk for communication disability. Two thirds of the studies examining falls risk identified communication disability as contributing to falls. Commonly, patients with communication disability were actively excluded from participation; measures of communication or cognition were not reported; and reasons for any increased risk of falls were not discussed. Conclusions: There is some evidence that communication disability is associated with increased risk of falls. However, the role of communication disability in falls is under-researched, and reasons for the increased risk remain unclear. Practical applications: Including patients with communication disability in falls research is necessary to determine reasons for their increased risk of adverse events in hospital. Their inclusion might be helped by the involvement of speech-language pathologists in falls research teams.
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 89-105 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Journal of Safety Research |
| Volume | 68 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Feb 2019 |
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Bibliographical note
Copyright the National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd 2018. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.Keywords
- Communication disability
- Falls
- Hospital
- Patient safety incidents
- Risk
Cite this
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A systematic review of falls in hospital for patients with communication disability : highlighting an invisible population. / Hemsley, Bronwyn; Steel, Joanne; Worrall, Linda; Hill, Sophie; Bryant, Lucy; Johnston, Leanne; Georgiou, Andrew; Balandin, Susan.
In: Journal of Safety Research, Vol. 68, 01.02.2019, p. 89-105.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - A systematic review of falls in hospital for patients with communication disability
T2 - Journal of Safety Research
AU - Hemsley, Bronwyn
AU - Steel, Joanne
AU - Worrall, Linda
AU - Hill, Sophie
AU - Bryant, Lucy
AU - Johnston, Leanne
AU - Georgiou, Andrew
AU - Balandin, Susan
N1 - Copyright the National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd 2018. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.
PY - 2019/2/1
Y1 - 2019/2/1
N2 - Background: Patients with communication disability, associated with impairments of speech, language, or voice, have a three-fold increased risk of adverse events in hospital. However, little research yet examines the causal relationship between communication disability and risk for specific adverse events in hospital. Objective: To examine the impact of a patient's communication disability on their falls risk in hospital. Methods: This systematic review examined 61 studies on falls of adult hospital patients with communication disability, and patients at high risk of communication disability, to determine whether or not communication disability increased risk for falls, and the nature of and reasons for any increased risk. Results: In total, 46 of the included studies (75%) reported on participants with communication disability, and the remainder included patients with health conditions placing them at high risk for communication disability. Two thirds of the studies examining falls risk identified communication disability as contributing to falls. Commonly, patients with communication disability were actively excluded from participation; measures of communication or cognition were not reported; and reasons for any increased risk of falls were not discussed. Conclusions: There is some evidence that communication disability is associated with increased risk of falls. However, the role of communication disability in falls is under-researched, and reasons for the increased risk remain unclear. Practical applications: Including patients with communication disability in falls research is necessary to determine reasons for their increased risk of adverse events in hospital. Their inclusion might be helped by the involvement of speech-language pathologists in falls research teams.
AB - Background: Patients with communication disability, associated with impairments of speech, language, or voice, have a three-fold increased risk of adverse events in hospital. However, little research yet examines the causal relationship between communication disability and risk for specific adverse events in hospital. Objective: To examine the impact of a patient's communication disability on their falls risk in hospital. Methods: This systematic review examined 61 studies on falls of adult hospital patients with communication disability, and patients at high risk of communication disability, to determine whether or not communication disability increased risk for falls, and the nature of and reasons for any increased risk. Results: In total, 46 of the included studies (75%) reported on participants with communication disability, and the remainder included patients with health conditions placing them at high risk for communication disability. Two thirds of the studies examining falls risk identified communication disability as contributing to falls. Commonly, patients with communication disability were actively excluded from participation; measures of communication or cognition were not reported; and reasons for any increased risk of falls were not discussed. Conclusions: There is some evidence that communication disability is associated with increased risk of falls. However, the role of communication disability in falls is under-researched, and reasons for the increased risk remain unclear. Practical applications: Including patients with communication disability in falls research is necessary to determine reasons for their increased risk of adverse events in hospital. Their inclusion might be helped by the involvement of speech-language pathologists in falls research teams.
KW - Communication disability
KW - Falls
KW - Hospital
KW - Patient safety incidents
KW - Risk
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85059811805&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jsr.2018.11.004
DO - 10.1016/j.jsr.2018.11.004
M3 - Article
VL - 68
SP - 89
EP - 105
JO - Journal of Safety Research
JF - Journal of Safety Research
SN - 0022-4375
ER -