Research Critique, Part 2
Jennifer Bullard
Grand Canyon University
Introduction to Nursing Research
NRS433
Martha Schmidt
October 07, 2012

Research Critique, Part 2
The purpose of this paper is to critique an article on the circumstances and characteristics of why patients fall in the hospital setting. The article being critiqued defines a fall as an unexpected drop from a sitting, standing, and lying position, which include an assisted fall (where someone helps guide them to the floor), slipping from a chair to the floor, and when a patient is found on the floor (Hitcho et al., 2008). This critique will discuss data collection, data management, analysis, and interpretation of the findings.
The Washington University Institutional Review Board gave their approval for this study. Written consent was waived due to the fact that this study was part of a hospital-based project to improve quality. The study did not pose any risks to the patients as the patients were not put in any situation to induce a fall, and no precautions were taken away from patients that prevent falls. Several sources and a comprehensive fall data collection tool was used to collect data on the patients that fell during their hospitalization which included: the database of adverse events, the electronic medical record, the paper chart, and patient/ family interviews, where no objections to being interviewed were noted (Hitcho et al., 2008).
The variables that were identified in the study were the patient’s information, details of the fall, contributing factors, injuries sustained, and the actions that were taken as a result of the fall. The patient information included the patient demographics, cognitive status, admitting diagnosis, fall history, medications taken prior to fall, preventative measures that were in place at the time of the fall, and their risk level that was given by the