Fall prevention in a dementia care centre in Gauteng

Abstract

The psycho-geriatric population has a high risk of falling due to the symptoms with which this group presents. The study explored and described any possible relationship between the fall risk of the psycho-geriatric residents of a dementia care centre in Gauteng and the nature of the staff’s fall prevention practices and educational needs. This was a mixed-method study, using a sequential explanatory design with three phases. Phase one consisted of structured observations of psycho-geriatric residents. Phase two consisted of group interviews with nurses and care workers. Phase three linked the results of the first two phases. The results showed that psycho-geriatric residents’ fall risk was moderate. The staff was found to be struggling with fall prevention due to some difficulties. These were found to be linked to the psychogeriatric residents’ fall risk. There is a need to improve training on fall prevention in the dementia care centre