A time series analysis of falls and injury in the inpatient rehabilitation setting.

The purpose of this study is to assess whether falls and injuries are influenced by a temporal pattern (defined as a pattern based on the time of day) in the inpatient acute rehabilitation unit/hospital (IRU/H) setting. A retrospective chart review and analysis of falls and injuries among inpatients admitted to our facility during a 9-month period was performed. The sample consisted of 367 patients who had fallen at least once; 71 had repeated falls, bringing the total number of falls to 438. Significant variation in the prevalence of falls (chi2 = 24.1, p <. 01) and injuries (chi2 = 12.90, p < .01) based on time of day and shift was observed. In addition, a temporal pattern of fall-related injuries with patients who had sustained stroke and brain injury (chi2 = 12.74, p = .045) was also observed. The findings from this study allow for the development of interventions that are appropriate when falls and injury are most prevalent for different clinical populations in the IRU/H setting.