Citation

Huynh D, Lee ON, An PM, Ens TA, Mannion CA. Clin. Nurs. Res. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1054773820907805

PMID

32088988

Abstract

Bedrail use for fall prevention in elderly clients (>65 years) is controversial. Some healthcare providers believe bedrails prevent falls, while others think they are ineffective and dangerous. A systematic review was conducted to address: "For older adults living in nursing homes, does more or less bedrail use reduce the incidence of falls?" We searched HealthStar, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Academic Search complete ProQuest and Canadian Health Research Collection using "elder*," "bedrail*," "fall*," and "assisted-living*." After filtering for primary data, English records, older adult population, relationship between bedrails and falls, fourteen studies remained.

RESULTS suggest using alternative fall prevention measures, and bedrails are either beneficial, harmful, or do not influence falls. Bedrail reduction with fall prevention interventions led to no changes in fall frequency. Ambiguity persists regarding fall frequencies and bedrail use without using other fall prevention strategies. Educating health care providers on fall prevention is key to patient safety.

Language: en

Keywords

bedrails; elderly; falls; injuries; long-term care; older adults