Development and Validation of A New Tool for Assessing Risk of Falls in Acute Psychiatric Settings

IJEMHHR • Vol. 18, No. 2 • 2016 742 BACKGROUND Falls in hospital are relevant adverse events, due to their frequency and potential consequences, for both patients and healthcare facilities (Saccomano & Ferrara, 2015; Cattelani et al., 2015). In literature, their incidence ranges between 10 and 17 for 1,000 patient bed days, with physical consequences in 30% of the cases (Hill et al., 2015). Furthermore, the increasing length of stay due to diagnostic and therapeutic activities contributes to raising costs. (Centers for disease control and prevention – Home and recreational safety., 2015) (Virdis et al., 2012).