TY - JOUR PY - 2012// TI - Falls among children in an Italian hospital: a prospective study JO - Nursing children and young people A1 - Della Mora, Roberta Da Rin A1 - Calza, Simona A1 - Urbano, Annamaria A1 - Esibiti, Fulvia A1 - Sperlinga, Maria Lucia A1 - Bagnasco, Annamaria A1 - Sasso, Loredana SP - 22 EP - 26 VL - 24 IS - 10 N2 - Aim The aim of this study was to assess the number of falls that occurred among children admitted to a children's hospital and explore their characteristics.

METHOD A descriptive, longitudinal, prospective design was chosen. Data were collected from records of a children's hospital over six months and analysed using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS Fifty eight falls were investigated. Most of these involved children, mainly boys, aged between one and three years, and most occurred in the evenings. All but one child was injured and 30 received medical interventions. In most cases an adult was present but was not paying sufficient attention to the child.

CONCLUSION Falls among children admitted to a children's hospital are increasingly recognised as an issue to be addressed by health organisations. Further investigation is required on a larger scale to agree definitions, classifications and preventive measures concerning children falling in hospital.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 2046-2336 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.7748/ncyp.24.10.22.s24 ID - ref1 ER -