Background
Identifying
individuals at risk for falls during inpatient stroke rehabilitation
can ensure timely implementation of falls prevention strategies to
minimize the negative personal and health system consequences of falls.
Objectives
To
compare sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of fallers and
non-fallers; and evaluate the ability of the Berg Balance Scale (BBS)
and Morse Falls Scale (MFS) to predict falls in an inpatient stroke
rehabilitation setting.
Methods
A
longitudinal study involving a secondary analysis of health record data
from 818 patients with stroke admitted to an urban, rehabilitation
hospital was conducted. A fall was defined as having ≥1 fall during the
hospital stay. Cut-points on the BBS and MFS, alone and in combination,
that optimized sensitivity and specificity for predicting falls, were
identified.
Results
Low
admission BBS score and admission to a low-intensity rehabilitation
program were associated with falling (p < .05). Optimal cut-points
were 29 for the BBS (sensitivity: 82.4%; specificity: 57.4%) and 30 for
the MFS (sensitivity: 73.2%; specificity: 31.4%) when used alone.
Cut-points of 45 (BBS) and 30 (MFS) in combination optimized sensitivity
(74.1%) and specificity (42.7%).
Conclusions
A BBS cut-point of 29 alone appears superior to using the MFS alone or combined with the BBS to predict falls.
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