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Tuesday, 1 November 2011: 10:00 AM
Learning Objective 1: Discuss the most current evidenced based practice guidelines related to patient safety and falls.
Learning Objective 2: Discuss the effect that an institutional educational program has on patient safety as related to fall prevention.
Safety should be a top priority for health care providers and falls are frequently viewed as a primary safety concern. The National Patient Safety Goals require that facilities be aware of each patient’s risk for falls and implement a plan to reduce the number of falls. The evidence has shown that multiple factors contribute to falls. Briggs and Steel (2007) identified poor vision, delirium, pharmaceuticals, a hazardous environment, and chronic dementing illness as contributing to a greater risk of falls. Toyabe (2010) identified having a history of falls, unsteady gait, weakness, and age over 65 years. A large rural hospital implemented a patient safety fall prevention educational plan utilizing the Hendrich II Fall Assessment Tool (Hendrick, Bender, & Nyhuis, 2003). Then after six months, the effectiveness of the plan was reviewed. To evaluate the effectiveness of the plan, the Hendrich II Fall Assessment Tool was converted to a check list that evaluated each room for certain items: intravenous tubing on floor, bed in lowest position, call light in reach, all necessary items in reach, and no cords lying on the floor, presence of a fall risk magnet on the door to the room, wristband identifying the patient was a fall risk, and yellow colored socks. Then, utilizing a correlational analysis, researcher found that there was no statistically significant difference when evaluating compliance with the plan and the number of patient fall on a unit. However, it was noted that all units were involved in utilizing the plan. Nevertheless, based on the mix of patients, the compliance with the plan and the number of falls varied. The data did reveal a moderate negative correlation noting that the units with higher numbers of falls had smaller levels of compliance with the Fall Assessment Tool Implementation Plan.
See more of: Research and Guideline Development in Chronic Patient Conditions
See more of: Oral Paper & Poster: Science Sessions
See more of: Oral Paper & Poster: Science Sessions