Tecnologia digital para educação em saúde sobre prevenção de quedas em pacientes hospitalizados: estudo quase-experimental

Abstract

A fall is a recurrent adverse event within healthcare services, which can further compromise the clinical condition of people in the hospital environment, even leading to death. In this context, multifactorial interventions have been positive. In this way, educational technology through the “Quedas Não” application can contribute to minimizing the risk of falling. The study aims to evaluate the effect of health education mediated by a mobile application on the prevention of hospital falls on the knowledge of hospitalized patients. Quasi-experimental study (pre- and post-test), with 260 people admitted to a medical clinic at a teaching hospital, in Fortaleza, from August to November 2023. For data collection, the following was applied: questionnaire with data clinical tests, Morse Falls Scale, Katz Index and Fall Prevention Knowledge Test for pre- and post-test. After applying the instruments, health education was carried out using the "Quedas Não" application, followed by the application of the post-test. To assess the normality of the tests, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests were used. After identifying non-normality of the data, the McNemar test was used to evaluate, in pairs, the answers to the Knowledge Test before and after the educational intervention. There was a predominance of male people, elderly, retired, with a partner, with children, Christians, with 9 to 11 years of study, from Fortaleza and with up to 14 days of hospitalization, independent or dependent for two activities of daily living, of moderate risk for falls. All questions in the Fall Prevention Knowledge Test obtained statistically significant results in the post-test given the total average number of correct answers, which went from 8.24 (± 2.6) in the pre-test to 11.34 (± 1. 6) in the post-test. The alternatives regarding the occurrence of falls and the increase in hospitalization time and the practice of physical exercises and stretching showed greater variations between the pre- and post-test, indicating that the interviewees did not obtain good prior knowledge on the subject. On the other hand, the questions that addressed getting up accompanied, informing about the use of medications and the appropriate use of glasses, in addition to the risk factors associated with the use of psychotropic, hypnotic and severe pain medications had smaller variations between the pre and the post-test, demonstrating that participants had good prior knowledge on the subject. It is concluded that health education through the “Quedas Não” application was efficient in improving patients' knowledge about preventing hospital falls.