Background: Depression and falls are highly prevalent, interrelated concerns for nursing home (NH) residents. Relationships between depression and falls should guide nurses towards developing evidence-based practices for assessing these conditions together. This study aimed to ascertain NH nurses’ clinical practices and perceptions regarding the assessment of depression and fall risk. Methods: This study was an exploratory descriptive study on the reported practices and perceptions from NH nurses in the canton of Vaud,Western Switzerland. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, nonparametric tests and a content analysis of responses to open-ended questions. Results: The mean age of our 116 responding nurses was 44.6 years old (SD = 11.3), 99 were women and their mean work experience in NHs was 13.1 years (SD = 9.2). The reporting showed that 88.8% of nurses relied on mood observation for assessing depression and 88.8% relied on the history of falls to identify fall risk. Only 75.9% and 61.2% of nurses used validated scales to detect depression and fall risk, respectively. Additionally, 56.9% of participants considered depression to be a significant factor in fall risk. Conclusion: Validated tools to assess depression and fall risk in NHs should be used more widely. Health policies must support and enhance NH nurses’ training and skills.
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