Acceptability and compliance with the use of hip protectors in elderly patients with dementia admitted to a psychogeriatric unit

• Published in: Revista española de geriatría y gerontología Vol. 43; no. 6; pp. 346 - 352
• Main Authors: Bajo, Lorena, Arnau, Anna, Espaulella, Joan, Dalmau, Núria, Barneto, Matilde
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Spain 01.11.2008
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Dementia - complications; Female; Geriatrics; Hip Fractures - complications; Hip Fractures - prevention & control; Hospital Units; Humans; Male; Patient Compliance - statistics & numerical data; Prospective Studies; Protective Devices; Psychiatry
• ISSN: 0211-139X

To detect the percentage of patients with dementia admitted to a psychogeriatric department, who have a high risk of falls, and to evaluate acceptance and compliance with hip protectors during their stay in hospital and 2 weeks and 3 months after discharge. We performed a hospital-based prospective cohort study. Risk of falling was evaluated on the basis of immediate bipedal standing instability or abnormal semi-tandem posture, a get-up-and-go test time of more than 20 seconds, or clinical judgement. Compliance during hospital stay was evaluated through nursing records and compliance outside hospital by telephone interviews at 15 days and 3 months after discharge. A total of 115 patients consecutively admitted to the psychogeriatric department of the Santa Creu Hospital in Vic were assessed. Sixty patients (52.2%) were excluded from the study, the main reason being dependence on another person for walking. Of the 55 patients included, 44 (80.0%) had a high risk of falls and were candidates for hip protectors. In-hospital compliance was 80.5% (95% CI: 65.1-91.2). The most common cause of non-compliance was removal of the hip protector by the patient. Compliance after discharge was 64.5% (95% CI: 45.4-80.8) at 2 weeks and 57.1% (95% CI: 28.9-82.4) at 3 months. A high risk of falling was found in a large percentage of patients with dementia who were not dependent on others for walking. Compliance was not a problem in the use of hip protectors in a high-risk population in the hospital-admission setting but was weaker in the community setting.