{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,29]],"date-time":"2026-01-29T21:52:59Z","timestamp":1769723579185,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,9]],"date-time":"2024-12-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1733702400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Geriatrics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>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\u2019 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\u2019 training and skills.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/geriatrics9060158","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,9]],"date-time":"2024-12-09T06:16:14Z","timestamp":1733724974000},"page":"158","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Nurses\u2019 Clinical Practice in Nursing Homes: Depressive Symptoms and Fall Risk Assessment"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0917-9097","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alcina Matos","family":"Queir\u00f3s","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar, University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Department of Health and Social Welfare, 1018 Lausanne, Switzerland"}]},{"given":"Armin","family":"von Gunten","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Service of Old Age Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, 1008 Prilly, Switzerland"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1527-9940","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Manuela","family":"Martins","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar, University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5375-3255","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Henk","family":"Verloo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Nursing Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, 1950 Sion, Switzerland"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"OFS (2018). 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