Nursing intervention assessment tool fall prevention in elderly people with systemic arterial hypertension

Abstract

Background and objective: Elderly people are at greater risk for falls and, therefore, need effective interventions to prevent them. The aim of the study was to develop an assessment tool for nursing intervention fall prevention to elderly with arterial hypertension and with nursing diagnosis Risk of falls.

Methods: A methodological study, accomplished in four stages: activities selection of the fall Prevention intervention from Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC); 2) construction of constructive definitions and operational for selected activities; 3) expert validation of constructed definitions; 4) pretest of the final assessment tool.

Results: The experts selected 50 activities out of 65 presented by NIC. The constitutive and operational definitions of the 50 activities were elaborated. From the focus group, some activities were grouped and the content of others changed. The pretest showed that, although the application of the assessment tool with the definitions take longer, it was more complete and targeted. The final assessment tool contains 28 activities with constitutive definitions and operational.

Conclusions: The produced assessment tool has nursing activities with constitutive and operational definitions suitable for clinical nursing practice. It is believed that it can lead the intervention of the nurses in preventing falls in elderly people with SAH and with the nursing diagnosis Risk of falls.