Hourly Rounding, Pain Scores, and Fall Risk Analysis

This technical report presents the findings of a study examining the relationship between hourly rounding practices, pain scores measured by the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), and fall risk assessed using the Morse Fall Scale. The study reveals a strong negative correlation between the frequency of hourly rounding and fall risk scores, indicating that increased rounding is associated with a significant decrease in fall risk. Specifically, each additional hourly round correlates with a 3.20-point reduction in fall risk scores, with the regression model explaining approximately 77% of the variance in these scores. Conversely, pain scores did not show a significant relationship with either hourly rounding or fall risk. The report discusses the implications of these findings for clinical practice, suggesting that structured hourly rounding could be an effective strategy for fall prevention. It also addresses limitations of the study, including its cross-sectional design and sample size, which may affect the generalizability of the results.