Hip protector compliance in an acute hospital setting

Objectives. To examine compliance for a newly designed hip protector and reasons for non-compliance among elderly participants with a moderate-to-high risk of falls. Methods. This was a descriptive observational study conducted in acute aged care wards at the Bankstown Hospital, Sydney, Australia. Seventeen in-patients aged between 71 and 95 years in the four aged care wards at the Bankstown Hospital were recruited to wear the protectors. Twelve (71%) patients had fallen at least once in the last year, whilst all of them were assessed as being at moderate-to-high risk of falling (according to the Falls Risk Assessment tool). Results. Seventeen participants completed the study. The compliance rate was 72%. Three major reasons for non-compliance were: deterioration in medical condition (n=6), issue with laundering of hip protectors (n=4), and discomfort (n=3). Conclusion. Hip protectors are well-tolerated by elderly patients at high risk of falls in a hospital setting. Targeting the reasons for noncompliance may improve compliance. Further robust studies are required to verify if the high compliance rate could be maintained in the long-term, and efficacy of hip protectors in fracture reduction.