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ERIC Number: EJ1400093
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1368-2822
EISSN: EISSN-1460-6984
'Patient Unable to Express Why He Was on the Floor, He Has Aphasia.' A Content Thematic Analysis of Medical Records and Incident Reports on the Falls of Hospital Patients with Communication Disability Following Stroke
Sullivan, Rebecca; Hemsley, Bronwyn; Harding, Katherine; Skinner, Ian
International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, v58 n6 p2033-2048 2023
Background: People with communication disability following stroke are at risk of falls during inpatient rehabilitation. However, they are often excluded from hospital falls research, and little is known about the circumstances or outcomes of their falls to inform risk management strategies. Aims: To examine hospital medical records and incident reports relating to falls of patients with communication disability following stroke for content codes, categories and themes relating to communication. Methods & Procedures: This medical record chart review examined data on 72 patients and 265 falls. A content thematic analysis was used to identify how patient communication is characterized in relation to falls, and their prevention and management strategies. Outcomes & Results: The data reflected that staff viewed patients having difficulty following simple instructions as contributing to falls. Gaining the attention of staff and communicating basic needs were also considered to be contributing factors for falls. Patients were often described as experiencing a fall when taking a risk or attempting to address an unmet basic need. Furthermore, written notes for patients with more severe communication disability reflected that the patient's communication impairments prevented staff from establishing the circumstances of some falls and complicated the assessment for injury following a fall. Conclusions & Implications: The medical records and incident reports of patients with communication disability following stroke reveal that hospital staff recognize the impact of communication disability as potential risk factors for falls for this group. It was difficult for staff to report the circumstances of the fall for patients with severe communication disability. Despite the recognition of communication as a potential contributing factor, few medical record entries documented strategies related to communication interventions to improve patients' ability to understand instructions, gain attention or communicate basic needs.
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A