Methods. The study was performed in two medical units at a teaching hospital from January to March of 2017. In total, 165 patients participated in the study: n=90 (response rate, 90.0%) from the Cardiology Unit and n=75 (response rate, 75.0%) from the Neurology Unit. The Morse Fall Scale was employed to assess a fall risk of patients. To assess nursing problems, a special form was developed in relation to the literature review. The study protocol was approved by the Centre of Bioethics at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (no. BEC-SL(B)-161).

Results. Half (50.3%) of the patiens had a high fall risk. More frequently, patients had a high fall risk in the Neurology Unit (64.0%), and a minor fall risk was relevant to half of the patients (52.2%) from the Cardiology Unit. The Cardiology Unit patients under the age ≤44 years did not have any fall risk at all although half of the Neurology Unit patients (50.0%) of this age had a minor risk and one-third (33.3%) had a high fall risk.

In both units, the patients who did not have a fall risk walked without assistance. In the Cardiology Unit, 54.3% of the patients with a high fall risk walked with a stick or a cruch. More than half of the patients in both units (57.1% in the Cardiology Unit and 56.3% in the Neurology Unit) with a high risk of falls had sleep problems. The patients with no risk of falls had no fear of falling and those with a high risk of fall felt fear of fall frequently (respectively, 37.1% in the Cardiology Unit and 39.6% in the Neurology Unit). The patients with a high risk of falls in both departments more frequently had impaired urinary elimination – nocturia (60.0% in the Cardiology Unit and 68.8% in the Neurology Unit). The patients with a high risk of falls usually had more nursing problems.

Conclusions. A high risk of falls was revealed to be a problem not only for older adults but also for younger patients, especially in the Neurology Unit. The patients with a high risk of falls usually had more nursing problems; thus, fall risk assessment and management must be integrated in nursing care planning and implementation.

Material and Methods. The study was performed at three Vilnius hospitals with dialysis health care service for outpatients. Private dialysis centres were excluded. The data was collected in July through November, 2014. One-hundred forty-one patients met inclusion criteria and agreed to participate in the study (response rate, 100.0%). The questionnaire was made by the authors of this study. Patients were asked to report on their health problems that appeared during the last 4 weeks. The study protocol was approved by the Centre of Bioethics at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences.

Results. The most frequent nursing problems among haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients were high blood pressure (73.3%), weakness (66.7%), hand and leg cramps (65.9%), sleep problems (62.4%) and dry skin (57.4%). Nursing problems such as high blood pressure (74.1% in haemodialysis patients and 69.7% in peritoneal dialysis patients, respectively), weakness (71.3% and 51.5%, respectively) and sleep problems (69.4% and 39.4%, respectively) were more prevalent among haemodialysis patients than peritoneal dialysis patients. Besides, hand and leg cramps were more relevant for peritoneal dialysis patients in comparison with haemodialysis patients (81.8% and 61.1%, respectively). Some health problems were relevant for patients after dialysis treatment that lasted for 10 years and longer: 90.9% of patients had weakness, 81.8% had high blood pressure and dry skin, and 63.6% had headache and muscles pain.

Conclusions. Assessment of nursing problems assures individual care of patients with haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Patient-centred care is provided if nursing professionals ground care planning on identified patients’ health problems and care needs.