— College of Allied Health Professions — Patient Safety — CAPTURE Falls — Roadmap — Fall Risk Reduction Interventions — Universal Interventions to Reduce Fall Risk for All Patients

Universal Interventions to Reduce Fall Risk for All Patients

Anyone can fall if conditions pose a risk (e.g. tripping over an obstacle on the floor). Universal interventions are steps that a hospital should take to keep all patients safe from falling, regardless of whether a patient was identified at risk upon completion of a fall risk assessment. Universal interventions reduce the risk of falling for not only patients, but also visitors and staff. Universal interventions focus largely on reducing risks in the physical environment, but also address how patients interact with the environment and staff. Many are common sense steps to keep patients safe.

Universal Interventions

A list of common universal interventions includes:

Interventions	Rationale
Bed in low position	Reduce the chance the patient will fall from a high surface if he/she leaves the bed unassisted.
Call light and personal belongings within reach	Reduce the chance the patient will leave the bed or chair unassisted.
Declutter environment	Reduce trip hazards.
Floor clean and dry	Reduce slip hazards.
Handrails in bathroom, hallways, etc.	Assist the patient’s balance during transfers and ambulation.
Locked wheels on hospital bed and wheelchair	Provide a sturdy surface from which the patient can transfer.
Night lights/supplemental lighting	Improve the patient’s ability to use vision for balance and see potential obstacles in his/her path.
Nonslip, well-fitting footwear	Reduce slip and trip hazards. Assist the patient’s balance.
Patient/family education	Familiarize patients and family with the environment and how to work with staff to reduce risk.
Purposeful hourly rounding	Proactively address the patient’s needs to reduce the chance he/she will get up unassisted.
Top bedrails up	Provide something that the patient can use to assist himself/herself with bed mobility and a visual demarcation for the edge of the bed.

Universal Interventions Education

Print Resource

Universal Fall Precautions: Section 3.2 What are universal fall precautions and how should they be implemented? in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Fall Prevention Toolkit describes a list of common universal fall precaution interventions and suggestions for how to implement them.

Universal Interventions Tools

Hourly Rounding Protocol: Tool 3B Scheduled Rounding Protocol in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Fall Prevention Toolkit can be used as a checklist to ensure that patient needs are regularly met and other universal interventions are in place as intended.
Environmental Checklist: Tool 3C Environmental Safety at the Bedside in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Fall Prevention Toolkit provides a list of items to inspect to identify and resolve any safety issues in the physical environment.
Hazard Report Form: Tool 3D Hazard Report Form in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Fall Prevention Toolkit can be used to report environmental hazards that need to be addressed by your organization’s maintenance staff.