| Sumario: | Aims To evaluate the acceptability, uptake and impact of a teach-back communication intervention for inpatient falls reduction on the rehabilitation wards of a large private, not-for-profit Australian health service. Design Quasi-experimental mixed-methods design. Methods Intervention ward clinical staff received education on teach-back communication and were surveyed pre- and post-training. Post-intervention staff focus groups, patient interviews, and a retrospective audit of administrative falls data were conducted. Falls rates per 1000 bed days were analysed using process-control charts. The study adhered to the Transparent Reporting of Evaluations with Nonrandomized Designs (TREND) statement. Results Before implementation, most staff expected teach-back to be effective and easy to use. These positive perceptions remained postimplementation, though staff reported increased workload and requested additional training. Documented use of teach-back in patient records was modest. Falls rates decreased but showed spikes coinciding with COVID outbreaks. Conclusion Healthcare staff perceived teach-back communication to be a useable strategy. Documentation rates were low but improved with training. Implications for patient care Teach-back communication for falls reduction can be implemented in inpatient rehabilitation settings with high levels of staff acceptability and measurable reductions to rates of patient falls on the wards. Teach-back positively impacted falls rates but did not mitigate spikes caused by disruptions to the ward environment. Robust implementation of teach-back communication strategies that are also nested within further multimodal strategies for falls reduction are required for consistency of falls reduction. Future research should explore implementational aspects of this technique to support consistent application of fall prevention for all inpatients.
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