[What, how and why people fall in hospital? Study in a Northern Italian Hospital]

Introduction: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), falls and falls related-injuries are a main issue for health and social systems in Europe and all over the world, particularly considering that life is lengthening. Objective: To describe incidence, causes and falls modalities in a Northern Italian Hospital following the organizational changes set up in 2008. Methods: The survey consists of two steps: 1. definition of expected situation according to the literature and other similar contexts; 2. examination of the fall report forms between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011. Results: In this period the incidence of falls has been 0.8% and in 69% of cases patients' intrinsic factors have been identified to be the cause, followed by extrinsic factors (7.4%), organizational factors (5.4%) and inter-professional communication difficulties (3.1%). Conclusion: Falls have a multi-factorial etiology, therefore the most effective approach should be multidimensional. A simultaneous action on three levels, organizational, staff/communication and patient, would be needed.