Increasing Fall Awareness through Nursing Staff Education.

Problem Statement

One of the most significant factors affecting adverse patient outcomes in healthcare is patient falls (McKenzie et al., 2017). It is estimated that a third of older adults in the United States (US) fall each year, with 20 to 30% of the cases resulting in moderate to severe injuries (McKenzie et al., 2017).  Injuries resulting from falls lead to more than 20,500 deaths, 734,000 hospitalizations and 2.5 million emergency room visits each year (McKenzie et al., 2017). Falls that occur in healthcare facilities can contribute to a longer length of stay, higher cost of care, and reduced patient satisfaction (McKenzie et al., 2017).  Furthermore, the increased cost of care and the burden of fall-related comorbidities have a negative effect on the quality of life of older individuals.Increasing Fall Awareness through Nursing Staff Education.

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These factors can be modified by providing education to the nursing staff responsible for caring for older adults. As such, the proposed project seeks to evaluate the effect of a nursing staff education project on the prevention of falls in a rehabilitation hospital.Increasing Fall Awareness through Nursing Staff Education.

Practice-Focused Question(s)

The following practice-focused question was established to guide the proposed project.

Does the increase in fall awareness through nursing staff education programs promote fall prevention?

This doctoral project addresses a significant gap in practice. Existing research suggests that most strategies implemented to address patient falls focus on assistive devices, environmental modification, and medication reviews. The role of nursing staff education to prevent patient falls by improving knowledge and awareness has not been prioritized. The quality of educational interventions aimed to prevent patient falls has also not been sufficiently evaluated.Increasing Fall Awareness through Nursing Staff Education.

Social Change

The project aims to promote positive social change among nurses in a rehabilitation hospital. This project will impact social change as nurses will use the information gained from the education to create practical solutions to prevent patient falls. For instance, they will be involved in identification of patients at risk, placement of alarms on chairs and beds of patients, and quick response to alarms.

Therefore, the project activity supports the mission of Walden University, which is to promote positive social change among the target research population (Coe et al., 2017).  Successful implementation of this project will impact health consumers through reduction of hospitalization cost and time as well as fall risks. Additionally, health organization and the entire nursing profession will benefit from reduced inpatient population preventing burnout of workers and nursing turnovers and hence deliver high quality care.Increasing Fall Awareness through Nursing Staff Education.

The Context for the Doctoral Project

Sources of Evidence

The Approach or Procedural Steps

The proposed project employs a pre-test post-test design; once the prospectus is approved, it will have five key steps.

Ethical

This project will protect human subjects through obtainment of informed consent.The DNP Student will also seek approval from the Institutional Review Board from the facilityand Walden IRB before conducting the project. Participation in this project is voluntary, and participants can withdraw at anytime. All participants will use unique identifiers on pre and post surveys in order to remain anonymous. The responses will then be compared to show improvement or any significant changes occurring during the program. The Institutional Review Board of Walden University will approve the project after ensuring that all ethical guidelines and procedures are followed.Increasing Fall Awareness through Nursing Staff Education.

Alignment

Various aspects of this prospectus align perfectly with each section focusing on the same specific point consistently. For instance, the project starts by identifying the practice-focused question and the existing gap in practice, that is, the role of nursing staff education in fall prevention as well as the insufficient evaluation of the quality of educational interventions aimed at patient fall prevention. The role of nursing staff education to prevent patient falls by improving knowledge and awareness has not been prioritized. The quality of educational interventions aimed to prevent patient falls has also not been sufficiently evaluated, which in turn justifies the need for this project. The next steps include identifying the project’s context and participants, implementation of the nursing staff education program, integration of evidence from the project, and procedural steps that guide the implementation of the project. Specifically, a pre-test post-test design is a basis for the project. The status of fall prevention awareness in the rehabilitative facility is measured before and after implementing the educational intervention. Pre and post-test scores obtained will be used to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the staff education awareness programs on fall prevention. Primary peer-reviewed sources have supported the identified practice problem. Following the highlighted procedural steps will result in the successful implementation of the project.Increasing Fall Awareness through Nursing Staff Education.

Prospectus: Increasing Fall Awareness through Nursing Staff Education

Problem Statement

One of the most significant factors affecting adverse patient outcomes in healthcare is patient falls (McKenzie et al., 2017). It is estimated that a third of older adults in the United States (US) fall each year, with 20 to 30% of the cases resulting in moderate to severe injuries (McKenzie et al., 2017).  Injuries resulting from falls lead to more than 20,500 deaths, 734,000 hospitalizations and 2.5 million emergency room visits each year (McKenzie et al., 2017). Falls that occur in healthcare facilities can contribute to a longer length of stay, higher cost of care, and reduced patient satisfaction (McKenzie et al., 2017).  Furthermore, the increased cost of care and the burden of fall-related comorbidities have a negative effect on the quality of life of older individuals.Increasing Fall Awareness through Nursing Staff Education.

These factors can be modified by providing education to the nursing staff responsible for caring for older adults. As such, the proposed project seeks to evaluate the effect of a nursing staff education project on the prevention of falls in a rehabilitation hospital.Increasing Fall Awareness through Nursing Staff Education.

Practice-Focused Question(s)

The following practice-focused question was established to guide the proposed project.

What is the impact of the nursing staff education program on patient falls prevention?

This doctoral project addresses a significant gap in practice. Existing research suggests that most strategies implemented to address patient falls focus on assistive devices, environmental modification, and medication reviews. The role of nursing staff education to prevent patient falls by improving knowledge and awareness has not been prioritized. The quality of educational interventions aimed to prevent patent falls has also not been sufficiently evaluated.Increasing Fall Awareness through Nursing Staff Education.

Social Change

The project aims to promote positive social change among nurses in a rehabilitation hospital. This project will impact social change as nurses will use the information gained from the education to create practical solutions to prevent patient falls. Therefore, the project activity supports the mission of Walden University, which is to promote positive social change among the target research population (Coe et al., 2017).  Successful implementation of this project will impact health consumers, health organizations, and the entire nursing profession. Increasing Fall Awareness through Nursing Staff Education.

The Context for the Doctoral Project

Sources of Evidence

The Approach or Procedural Steps

The proposed project employs a pre-test post-test design; once the prospectus is approved, it will have five key steps.

Ethical

This project will protect human subjects, and the DNP Student will seek approval from the Institutional Review Board from the facility and Walden IRB before conducting the project. Participation in this project is voluntary, and participants can withdraw at anytime. All participants will remain anonymous. The Institutional Review Board of Walden University will approve the project after ensuring that all ethical guidelines and procedures are followed.Increasing Fall Awareness through Nursing Staff Education.

Alignment

Various aspects of this prospectus align perfectly. The project starts by identifying the practice-focused question and the existing gap in the literature, which in turn justifies the need for this project. The next steps include identifying the project’s context and participants, implementation of the nursing staff education program, integration of evidence, and procedural steps that guide the implementation of the project. Specifically, a pre-test post-test design is a basis for the project. The status of current education in the rehabilitative facility is measured before and after implementing the educational intervention. Pre and post-test scores obtained will be used to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the project. Primary peer-reviewed sources have supported the identified practice problem. Following the highlighted procedural steps will result in the successful implementation of the project.Increasing Fall Awareness through Nursing Staff Education.