The Development of a Fall Risk Assessment Form for Elderly Patients with Visual Impairment at the Ophthalmic Ward

Abstract

The objective of this research was to develop a fall risk assessment form to use on elderly patients with visual impairment at ophthalmic ward of Surat Thani Hospital. The sample population, which was chosen through purposive sampling, consisted of 3 groups: for phase 1-analysis of the present situation of the use of fall assessment form with 6 optical health experts; for phase 2—development of a new fall risk assessment form—the developed form was evaluated and found to have a content validity index of 0.91. for phase 3— evaluation of the suitability—20 registered nurses at the ophthalmic ward used the form to assess 42 elderly patients who had come in. then followed up on the incidence of falls, and evaluated the suitability of the form. The evaluation form had a content validity index of 0.86 and a reliability score of 0.89. the sensitivity was 100% and the specificity was 90%. There were 3 major findings of the research: 1) Experts’ evaluation of the previously used fall risk assessment form showed that it was not specifically designed 2) The new fall risk assessment form that comprised 9 risk factors (1) age, (2) fall history, (3) medication use history, (4) illness history/chronic conditions, (5) walking/mobility, (6) vision disorders, (7) perception disorders, (8) bladder/bowel function, and (9) environment. Lastly, 3) registered nurses rated the newly form as “highly suitable” and there were no reports of falls.