Abstract
Objective
To evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention mediated by printed technology on knowledge about fall prevention in hospitalized patients.
Method
This is a quasi-experimental study, of before and after type, applied an educational intervention mediated by a booklet. The study included 86 patients hospitalized in a medical-surgical clinic. A knowledge test on fall prevention was used, containing 12 questions, which was previously validated by professionals with expertise in patient safety. McNemar test was applied to assess, in a paired fashion, test responses before and after the educational intervention.
Results
It was observed that, before the intervention, all questions of the instrument had less success. There was an association between change in knowledge with: perception of causes of falls during hospitalization (p=0.008); events considered as fall (p=0.000); use of means to support mobility (p=0.000); difficulty in seeing and hearing as a risk factor (p=0.000); the use of medications (p=0.000); importance of informing the professional about the history of falls (p=0.007); general prevention practices (p=0.000); care related to the environment (p=0.000) and the practice of exercises during hospitalization (p=0.000).
Conclusion
Educational intervention using the booklet was effective in providing guidance on the risk of falls in hospitalized adult patients.
Health education; Accidental falls; Accident prevention; Education technology; Hospitals