AgingNCT00183053
Proximity Alarms to Reduce Patient Falls
A study testing BedEx Patient Occupancy Monitoring System in people with Aging, run by National Institute on Aging (NIA) at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The purpose of this study is to test an intervention to introduce and implement proximity alarms on the risk of falls in hospitalized patients. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Any age
- Conditions the study is for
- Aging
- What is being tested?
- BedEx Patient Occupancy Monitoring System
- Type of treatment
- Medical device
- How many people
- 10,000 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- May 2006to Oct 2007
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages Any age
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Patient admitted to one of 16 study units at Methodist University Hospital
Who cannot join
None listed.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Methodist-University Hospital
Memphis, Tennessee, 38104
About this study
Official title: Trial of Proximity Alarms to Reduce Patient Falls
The purpose of this study is to test an intervention to introduce and implement proximity alarms on the risk of falls in hospitalized patients.
Read the detailed description
Proximity alarm systems are promoted as an approach to reduce falls and decrease use of physical restraints in hospitals, but they have not been tested rigorously. This study will implement proximity alarms at Methodist-University Hospital (M-UH), a 652-bed urban community hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. The hospital provides primary to tertiary care to a diverse adult patient population. The group randomized trial will be conducted on 16 25-bed general medical-surgical nursing units at M-UH. Nursing units will be randomized within blocks of 2 based on rates of falls that occur during an initial 3-month observation period. Over a 15-month intervention, 8 nursing units will be randomized to receive the alarm-based intervention, and 8 will utilize existing nursing care methods to minimize falls. Intervention units will receive an adequate supply of proximity alarm monitoring systems to apply to all patients considered by nursing staff to be at high risk for falls. An implementation team, consisting of a nurse-champion, geriatrician and biomedical instrumentation specialist, will train and conduct regular follow-up on intervention units to address technical issues related to use of the alarms. The primary outcome measure, patient falls, will be ascertained prospectively by a nurse-manager using a method developed to collect patient (e.g., orientation and postural blood pressure) and environmental data collected in a standardized manner. The primary aim of the study is to determine whether proximity alarm monitoring reduces falls. The study has been designed to test the hypothesis that patient falls will be 25% lower on intervention units compared to control units. The secondary aims are to determine whether proximity alarm monitoring reduces the use of physical restraints, or decreases patient care costs. This will be the first methodologically sound study to evaluate this promising approach to reducing falls in hospitals. Whether or not alarms successfully reduce falls, findings from this study have the potential to widely impact purchasing decisions and clinical practice related to fall prevention in acute-care settings.
- Conditions
- Aging
- Being tested
- BedEx Patient Occupancy Monitoring System
- Keywords
- Hospitalization, Fall Risk, Frailty
- Medical subject headings
- Frailty
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
BedEx Patient Occupancy Monitoring SystemDevice
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Patient falls over 15 months
Secondary outcomes (2)
Restraint use
patient care costs over 15 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted16 Sep 2005 (estimated)
- Study startMay 2006
- Primary completionOct 2007
- Study completionOct 2007
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (6)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for AgingStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 10,000 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- National Institute on Aging (NIA)
- Sponsor type
- US National Institutes of Health
- Investigators
- Ronald I. Shorr, MD, MS, Principal investigator, Department of Aging & Geriatric Research, University of Florida
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00183053
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- AG0050
- Other IDs
- R01AG025285
- Status last verified
- Oct 2009
- First submitted
- 13 Sep 2005
- Last updated
- 2 Nov 2009
- Results posted
- No
Publications
Tideiksaar R, Feiner CF, Maby J. Falls prevention: the efficacy of a bed alarm system in an acute-care setting. Mt Sinai J Med. 1993 Nov;60(6):522-7.
PubMed 8121429Morse JM. Enhancing the safety of hospitalization by reducing patient falls. Am J Infect Control. 2002 Oct;30(6):376-80. doi: 10.1067/mic.2002.125808.
PubMed 12360147Bates DW, Pruess K, Souney P, Platt R. Serious falls in hospitalized patients: correlates and resource utilization. Am J Med. 1995 Aug;99(2):137-43. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9343(99)80133-8.
PubMed 7625418Morse JM, Black C, Oberle K, Donahue P. A prospective study to identify the fall-prone patient. Soc Sci Med. 1989;28(1):81-6. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(89)90309-2.
PubMed 2928815Oliver D, Britton M, Seed P, Martin FC, Hopper AH. Development and evaluation of evidence based risk assessment tool (STRATIFY) to predict which elderly inpatients will fall: case-control and cohort studies. BMJ. 1997 Oct 25;315(7115):1049-53. doi: 10.1136/bmj.315.7115.1049.
PubMed 9366729Shorr RI, Chandler AM, Mion LC, Waters TM, Liu M, Daniels MJ, Kessler LA, Miller ST. Effects of an intervention to increase bed alarm use to prevent falls in hospitalized patients: a cluster randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2012 Nov 20;157(10):692-9. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-157-10-201211200-00005.
PubMed 23165660
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 2 Nov 2009. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Trial of Proximity Alarms to Reduce Patient Falls
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00183053
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- AG0050
- Conditions
- Aging
- Keywords
- Hospitalization, Fall Risk, Frailty
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 10,000 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- National Institute on Aging (NIA)US National Institutes of Health
- Study start
- May 2006
- Primary completion
- Oct 2007 (actual)
- Study completion
- Oct 2007 (actual)
- First posted
- 16 Sep 2005 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The purpose of this study is to test an intervention to introduce and implement proximity alarms on the risk of falls in hospitalized patients.
Detailed description
Proximity alarm systems are promoted as an approach to reduce falls and decrease use of physical restraints in hospitals, but they have not been tested rigorously. This study will implement proximity alarms at Methodist-University Hospital (M-UH), a 652-bed urban community hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. The hospital provides primary to tertiary care to a diverse adult patient population. The group randomized trial will be conducted on 16 25-bed general medical-surgical nursing units at M-UH. Nursing units will be randomized within blocks of 2 based on rates of falls that occur during an initial 3-month observation period. Over a 15-month intervention, 8 nursing units will be randomized to receive the alarm-based intervention, and 8 will utilize existing nursing care methods to minimize falls. Intervention units will receive an adequate supply of proximity alarm monitoring systems to apply to all patients considered by nursing staff to be at high risk for falls. An implementation team, consisting of a nurse-champion, geriatrician and biomedical instrumentation specialist, will train and conduct regular follow-up on intervention units to address technical issues related to use of the alarms. The primary outcome measure, patient falls, will be ascertained prospectively by a nurse-manager using a method developed to collect patient (e.g., orientation and postural blood pressure) and environmental data collected in a standardized manner. The primary aim of the study is to determine whether proximity alarm monitoring reduces falls. The study has been designed to test the hypothesis that patient falls will be 25% lower on intervention units compared to control units. The secondary aims are to determine whether proximity alarm monitoring reduces the use of physical restraints, or decreases patient care costs. This will be the first methodologically sound study to evaluate this promising approach to reducing falls in hospitals. Whether or not alarms successfully reduce falls, findings from this study have the potential to widely impact purchasing decisions and clinical practice related to fall prevention in acute-care settings.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
Who may qualify
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Patient admitted to one of 16 study units at Methodist University Hospital
Key exclusion criteria (0 listed)
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| BedEx Patient Occupancy Monitoring System | Device | – |
Primary outcome
Patient falls over 15 months
2 secondary outcomes
Restraint use
patient care costs over 15 months
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 2 Nov 2009.
- Background: PubMed 8121429Tideiksaar R, Feiner CF, Maby J. Falls prevention: the efficacy of a bed alarm system in an acute-care setting. Mt Sinai J Med. 1993 Nov;60(6):522-7.
- Background: PubMed 12360147Morse JM. Enhancing the safety of hospitalization by reducing patient falls. Am J Infect Control. 2002 Oct;30(6):376-80. doi: 10.1067/mic.2002.125808.
- Background: PubMed 7625418Bates DW, Pruess K, Souney P, Platt R. Serious falls in hospitalized patients: correlates and resource utilization. Am J Med. 1995 Aug;99(2):137-43. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9343(99)80133-8.
- Background: PubMed 2928815Morse JM, Black C, Oberle K, Donahue P. A prospective study to identify the fall-prone patient. Soc Sci Med. 1989;28(1):81-6. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(89)90309-2.
- Background: PubMed 9366729Oliver D, Britton M, Seed P, Martin FC, Hopper AH. Development and evaluation of evidence based risk assessment tool (STRATIFY) to predict which elderly inpatients will fall: case-control and cohort studies. BMJ. 1997 Oct 25;315(7115):1049-53. doi: 10.1136/bmj.315.7115.1049.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 23165660Shorr RI, Chandler AM, Mion LC, Waters TM, Liu M, Daniels MJ, Kessler LA, Miller ST. Effects of an intervention to increase bed alarm use to prevent falls in hospitalized patients: a cluster randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2012 Nov 20;157(10):692-9. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-157-10-201211200-00005.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Ronald I. Shorr, MD, MS principal investigator
Department of Aging & Geriatric Research, University of Florida
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing BedEx Patient Occupancy Monitoring System in people with Aging, run by National Institute on Aging (NIA) at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 0 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 2 Nov 2009. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Patient falls over 15 months. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00183053, which also lists 6 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 2 Nov 2009.