Circumstances and outcomes of falls in hospital for adults with communication disability secondary to stroke: A qualitative synthesis

BACKGROUND: Falls are a significant patient safety concern in hospital. Adult patients with stroke, and those with communication disability, are at an increased risk of falls during their hospital admission compared to patients without stroke or communication disability. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this review is to determine the circumstances and outcomes of falls in hospitalised patients with communication disability following stroke. METHOD: A qualitative synthesis of 16 papers according to the Generic Reference Model of patient safety. This is a secondary analysis of studies in a systematic review of the association between communication disability after stroke and falls in hospitalised patients. RESULTS: In studies including participants with communication disability, falls commonly occurred at the patient bedside, during the day, and in transfers. However, no studies provided individual or group specifically detailing the circumstances and outcomes of falls of the included participants with communication disability. CONCLUSION: Research to date provides scant evidence on the circumstances and outcomes of falls in hospital patients with communication disability after stroke. This review performs a useful function in highlighting a glaring gap in the literature and the urgent need to enrich hospital falls prevention research that includes patients with communication disability following stroke. Findings of this review are discussed in relation to providing a framework for analysis of for future research.