Date of Award

Fall 11-29-2020

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

Dr. Debbie Conner, Ph.D, MSN, ANP/FNP-BC, FAANP

Second Advisor

Dr. M. Christopher Saslo DNS, ARNP-BC, FAANP

Abstract

Practice Problem: The practice problem identified within the Community Living Center included continuous falls, despite using current fall prevention strategies and provider-driven interventions. Baseline data reflected a fall rate of 4.2 in the long-term care areas despite improving the fall prevention program.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was: In older adult residents (P), what is the effect of a standing operating procedure (SOP) using patient-centered interventions (I) compared to physician-driven fall interventions (C) on decreasing falls and falls with injuries (O) within one month (T)?

Evidence: In twelve high-quality articles that fit the eligibility criteria and contained EBP literature, the overwhelming evidence revealed that an SOP encompassing patient-centered fall interventions could decrease LTC falls and falls within injury rates.

Outcome: Observations reflected the nursing staff utilized the SOP and patient-centered fall interventions in practice; however, fall rates on both LTC #1 and LTC #2 increased from baseline, but the falls with injury rates remained zero. Patient satisfaction measured a weighted mean score of 4.7 of 5 points, representing satisfaction with the patient-centered interventions and nurses as a whole.

Conclusion: The EBP project did not result in an overall reduction in the fall rates; however, falls with injury rates remained at zero. Furthermore, the patient's overall satisfaction with the nurses and patient-centered fall prevention program was favorable. It is essential to note that due to COVID-19 related events, the project halted after 30 days, and the results might have been different if implemented 90 days as initially projected.

Comments

Scholarly project submitted to the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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