Facts About Fall Risk Assessment

To be effective, assessment tools need to be sensitive (correctly identify high risk patients/residents) and specific (correctly identify patients/residents not at risk) and, perhaps most importantly, be easy for nurses to use (embedding the fall risk
assessment tool into existing nursing assessments helps with “buy-in” and acceptance of the tool/process).

• Identify patient/resident problems (rational basis for deciding whether risk exists)
• Identify those patients/residents most likely to fall
• Trigger further fall-related assessments (multidisciplinary)
• Identify interventions (guide patient/resident care planning)
• Raise staff awareness of fall/injury risk.

• Upon admission
• Post-fall
• Upon change of health condition (including medication changes)
• Daily/every shift (confused patients/residents; patients/residents taking sedatives, recent fall, etc.)