Differences in Evaluating Fall Risk by Primary Care Provider Type

Janice A Mark; Yara K Haddad; Elizabeth R Burns

doi:10.1016/j.nurpra.2020.04.014

Differences in Evaluating Fall Risk by Primary Care Provider Type

J Nurse Pract. 2020 Aug;16(7):528-532. doi: 10.1016/j.nurpra.2020.04.014.

Authors

Janice A Mark^{1

2}, Yara K Haddad^{1

3}, Elizabeth R Burns¹

Affiliations

¹ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Injury Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy NE, MS S106-9, Atlanta, GA, USA 30341.
² American Association of College of Nursing, 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington DC, USA 20001.
³ TJFACT, 50 Hurt Plaza SE, Suite 1600, Atlanta, GA USA 30303.

Abstract

This study assessed differences in clinical fall risk assessment of older adults (65+) and clinical resources used by primary care providers (PCP). We used Porter Novelli's 2016 DocStyles survey to examine clinical behavior data from PCPs (n=1128). Compared to other practitioners, nurse practitioners (NP) reported a higher percentage of their patients were older adults. The majority of NPs reported screening for falls risk routinely, but most did not use standardized fall-risk assessments to assess risk factors. There were also differences in the types of clinical resources used by NPs and other PCPs to evaluate the safety profile of medications.

Keywords: elderly; fall screening; medication assessment; nurse practitioners; older adults; primary care providers.

Abstract

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