RISK FOR INJURY
Definition:
At risk of injury as a result of environmental
conditions interacting with the individual’s adaptive and defensive resources.
Risk
factors:
External
§ Biological:
Community immunization level; microorganisms
§ Chemical:
Cosmetics; drugs, pharmaceutical agents; dyes; alcohol, nicotine,
preservatives; poisons
§ Human:
Nosocomial agents; staffing patterns; cognitive, affective, psychomotor factors
§ Nutritional:
Food types, vitamins
§ Physical:
Design, structure, and arrangement of community, building, and/or equipment
§ Mode
of transport
Internal
§ Abnormal
blood profile: Altered clotting factors; decreased hemoglobin;
leukocytosis/leucopenia; sickle cell; thalassemia; thrombocytopenia
§ Biochemical
dysfunction
§ Immune
or autoimmune disorder
§ Developmental
age: physiological and/or psychosocial
§ Tissue
hypoxia
Expected
outcomes:
The patient will
·
Acknowledge presence of environmental
hazards in their everyday surroundings.
·
Take safety precautions in and out of
home.
·
Instruct children in safety habits.
·
Childproof house to ensure safety of young
children and cognitively impaired adults.
Interventions
and Rationales:
Determine:
Help patient identify situations and
hazards that can cause accidents to
increase patient’s awareness of potential dangers.
Perform:
Arrange
environment of patient with dementia to
minimize risk of injury:
·
Place furniture against walls.
·
Avoid use of throw rugs.
Maintain
lighting so that patient can find her way around room and to bathroom. Poor lighting is a major cause of falls.
Prevent
iatrogenic harm to hospitalized patient by following the 2007 National Patient
Safety goals. This resource provides
comprehensive measures designed to prevent harm.
Follow agency policy regarding the use of
restraints—they are generally used as a last resort after ot her measures have
failed. Agency policies will provide
clear direction to use restraints safely.
Inform:
Encourage adult patient to discuss
safety rules with children to foster
household safety. For
example:
·
Don’t play with matches.
·
Use electrical equipment carefully.
·
Know location of the fire escape route.
·
Don’t speak to strangers.
·
Dial 911 in an emergency.
Attend:
Encourage patient to make repairs and remove
potential safety hazards from environment to
decrease possibility of injury.
Manage:
Refer
patient to appropriate community resources for more information about
identifying and removing safety hazards. This enables patient and family to alter environment to achieve optimal safety
level.
References:
Bright, L. (2005, January).
Strategies to improve the patient safety outcome indicator: Preventing or
reducing falls. Home Healthcare Nurse, 23(1), 29–36. Yuan, J. R., & Kelly,
J. (2006, February). Falls prevention, or “I think I can, I think I can”: An
ensemble approach to falls management. Home Healthcare Nurse, 24(2), 103–111
COMMENTS