The Humpty Dumpty Falls Scale: A case-control study

Abstract

PURPOSE. The purpose of this descriptive study was to assess whether the Humpty Dumpty Falls Scale (HDFS) identifies hospitalized pediatric patients at high risk for falls. DESIGN AND METHODS. The study was a matched case-control design. A chart review of 153 pediatric cases who fell and 153 controls who did not fall were pair-matched by age, gender, and diagnosis. RESULTS. High-risk patients fell almost twice as often as low-risk patients (odds ratio 1.87, confidence interval = 1.01, 3.53, p =.03). PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS. A Falls Prevention Pediatric Program with the HDFS tool addresses the Joint Commission Patient Safety Goals, but further research is needed to examine HDFS sensitivity-specificity. © (2008), The Authors.