New Publications from the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing

The following new publications are highlighted in the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing (HIGN) Report, Volume 1/Issue 5/May 2011.  To subscribe, go to the HIGN home page.

Try this: Assessment of Fear of Falling in Older Adults: The Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I)
The Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) is a short, easy to administer tool that measures the level of concern about falling during social and physical activities inside and outside the home whether or not the person actually does the activity. The level of concern is measured on a four point Likert scale (1=not at all concerned to 4=very concerned) (Yardley et al., 2005). The FES-I was developed in a collaborative effort with members of the Prevention of Falls Network Europe (ProFaNE), European Committee focused on fall prevention and the psychology of falling. The group tested the FES-I using different samples in different countries and translated the tool into several languages.

A Bill of Rights for Hospitalized Older Adults
Acute-care hospitals have few structures, programs, or staff prepared to address the special needs of older adults. To help correct this issue, the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing and the Coalition of Geriatric Nursing Organizations (CGNO) proposed language for a Bill of Rights for Hospitalized Older Adults. The Bill of Rights proceeds from general value statements to the specific knowledge, skills, and actions necessary to provide quality care to older adult patients.

"Clinical Rotations in Nursing Home" Module
The Hartford Institute, with funding from the Jewish Foundation for Education of Women (JFEW), has created a new web-based module to help nursing faculty improve how they structure and conduct student clinical rotations in nursing homes. Mathy Mezey, EdD, RN, FAAN, is the Principal Investigator for the effort. Designed for baccalaureate and graduate level, the module will be widely disseminated to nursing school faculty and the national nursing community.