The tension between promoting mobility and preventing falls in the hospital.

Matthew E. Growdon; Ronald I. Shorr; Sharon K. Inouye

Commentary

The tension between promoting mobility and preventing falls in the hospital.

May 10, 2017

Growdon ME, Shorr RI, Inouye SK. JAMA Intern Med. 2017;177(6):759-760.

View more articles from the same authors.

This commentary discusses unintended consequences of the well-intentioned strategy of keeping older adults in bed while hospitalized to reduce falls, a never event. The authors suggest that immobilizing patients is not the answer to fall prevention and advocate for hospitals to promote patient mobility as a routine part of care.

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