An Evaluation of Nurses' Compliance With Pressure Ulcer and Fall Risk Assessments.

AIM: Pressure ulcers (PUs) and falls are two major issues following patient hospitalisation. They result in a series of complications affecting patients, families, and healthcare. Many factors can lead to PUs and falls. The absence of proper assessments of their etiologies exacerbates these issues. Mapping the road to effective assessment is crucial for the right interventions to be implemented according to each patient's needs. This study aims to provide an overall estimate of nurse compliance with PU and fall risk assessments on hospital admission and indicate the degree of variation in compliance rates across different hospital units. METHODS: Following the STROBE guidelines a retrospective descriptive design was utilised and included all patients for 2022. RESULTS: The results showed the general compliance with PU and fall risk assessments and indicated that intensive care units (medical/surgical and burn units) had the highest rate of compliance, which exceeded 97% with the PU assessment. Male wards (surgical and orthopaedic) wards demonstrated low compliance with the PU assessment (69% and 80.6%, respectively). Regarding the fall risk assessment, the surgical, orthopaedic, and medical wards had the lowest rates of compliance with an average of 69%, but the neurosurgery ward had a 95.6% compliance rate. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTIONS: Incidences of PUs and falls are essential quality indicators. This research highlights units' characteristics and their compliance with the assessments. Hospital-based assessment is crucial for identifying gaps in assessment and implementing proper interventions. Proper interventions not only improve patient outcomes but also enhance the overall quality of care within the healthcare system. By regularly evaluating these assessments, hospitals can better allocate resources and streamline processes to address patient needs more effectively.