FIPC Research: Falls specialist officer project - Queensland Stay On Your Feet®

This pilot project was designed to evaluate the role of Falls Specialist Officers (FSO) working in Queensland hospitals to deliver education, training and support to frontline staff on best practice strategies for falls prevention. The project aims were to build staff awareness, competency and attitudes towards falls prevention, and reduce the rate of falls and fall injuries in the three south-east Queensland metropolitan hospitals.

Two Falls Specialist Officers undertook action research cycles to identify gaps in the knowledge, skills and attitudes of frontline staff towards falls prevention.

The results showed:

• a 23 to 56% increase in appropriate use of falls risk screening strategies
• a 7 to 32 % increase in appropriate use of environmental strategies
• overall improvement in safety climate scores - pre: 16% vs post: 14% (p=0.48).

More information

• Falls Specialist Officer Project - Executive Summary
• Falls Specialist Officer Project - Full Report
• Falls Specialist Officer Project - Poster presentation
• "Insights into the climate of safety towards the prevention of falls among hospital staff"