BACKGROUND: This study investigated if implementation of a 20-min rounding intervention can reduce falls in aged care settings.
METHODS: Participants (aged 66-99 years) from five aged care facilities were randomly allocated to intervention (n = 20) or control groups (n = 21). The intervention consisted of 20-min rounding observations over a six month period. The number of falls for all residents of each aged care facility was also collected.
RESULTS: For participants of the intervention study, there were no differences for number of falls in the intervention compared to the control group (mean(95%CI) control:2.3(0.8-3.7), intervention:4.0(2.5-5.5), p = 0.108). There was a trend for a decreased average number of falls across all aged care sites (mean±SD, 60.4 ± 35.7 falls occurred prior vs. 53.4 ± 37.4 during the intervention, p = 0.056). There were no fall related fractures in the intervention group during the study.
CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that 20-min rounding may decrease falls for all residents of aged care sites.