News

Hollywood Research Study Into The Impact of Falls Among Older Patients On Their Family Carers

Apr 07, 2021

Falls in older adults can cause serious and life-threatening injuries and are a major source of concern for their family carers.

A Falls Research Project at Hollywood Private Hospital will investigate the impact of falls among older patients on their family carers.

Edith Cowan University Nurse Researcher Marcus Ang said many carers experience long-term psychological distress due to the fear of their loved one falling and becoming injured.

“We hope to understand more about the falls experiences of family carers before, during and after hospitalisation of older patients,” Dr Ang said.

“We developed a questionnaire in the community to measure the concerns that family carers have regarding their care recipient’s risk of falling.

“Understanding carers’ falls concern is crucial to determine if they are coping with the provision of care or have adequate knowledge and support in preventing falls.”

The aim of the research study will be:

• To measure the level of falls concern, psychological distress and quality of life of family carers during and after patients’ hospitalisation.
• To evaluate the feasibility of the Carers’ Fall Concern questionaire at Hollywood.
• To improve family carers’ awareness to falls risk and the availability of support in preventing falls.

About 180 family carers and patients will be recruited for the study, which is due to start in June.

If successful, Dr Ang hopes the Carers’ Fall Concern Questionnaire will be used as an alternative risk assessment tool to predict the fall risk of older patients from the perspective of their family carers.

Hollywood Director of Clinical Services Karen Gullick said research, such as the falls study, was important for improving patient outcomes.

“We are fortunate to have nurses and allied health staff leading research projects that improve patient care,” Ms Gullick said.

Edith Cowan University Nurse Researcher Marcus Ang is conducting a Falls Research Project at Hollywood Private Hospital.