It’s estimated that between 700,000 and 1 million falls happen throughout US hospitals every year, and almost a third of these result in a patient injury. Several of the risk factors for falls— changes in activities of daily living, cognitive impairment, functional and gait declines, and depression—are all common among people living with cancer. Yet clinical guidelines and nursing protocols currently do not account for the unique fall risks of hospitalized patients with cancer.
Amil Tan, PhD, RN, FNP-BC™, MEDSURG-BC™, an assistant professor at Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing at Hunter College of the City University of New York, tackled this research question and published the findings in Oncology Nursing Forum. Dr. Tan’s team evaluated electronic health records of patients with cancer who had been…