JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The challenge of preventing in-patient falls remains one of the most critical concerns in healthcare.

Objective:

This study aimed to investigate the effect of an integrated internet of things smart patient care system on fall prevention.

Methods:

We employed a quasi-experimental study design. The smart patient care system is an integrated internet of things system combining a motion-sensing mattress for bed-exit detection, specifying different types of nursing calls, integrating a nursing scheduling system, and allowing nurses to receive and respond to alarms via mobile devices. Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models were used to investigate the relationship between the use of the internet of things system and bedside falls compared with a traditional patient care system.

Results:

In total, 1300 patients were recruited from a medical center in Taiwan. The bedside fall incidence during hospitalization was 1.2% (n=8) in the traditional patient care system ward and 0.1% (n=1) in the smart ward. We found that the likelihood of bedside falls in wards with the internet of things system was reduced by 88% (odds ratio = 0.12, 95% confidence interval: 0.01, 0.97, p = 0.047).

Conclusions:

The integrated internet of things smart patient care system might prevent falls by assisting nurses with efficient and resilient responses to bed-exit detection. Future product development and research are recommended to introduce internet of things into patient care systems combining bed-exit alerts to prevent inpatient falls and address challenges in patient safety.