Implementing Fall Prevention Processes in The Hospital Setting Essay

Implementing Fall Prevention Processes in The Hospital Setting Essay

Introduction

Reliable estimates by the CDC indicate that close to 700,000 and 1,000,000 in the United States experience falls and fall injuries within the healthcare environments annually (Heng et al., 2020). Jiang and Tian (2022) explained that a patient fall refers to an unplanned descent to the floor with or without harm or injury to the victim. Other research findings have indicated that the problem of falls may be associated with fractures, internal bleeding, lacerations and the increased risk of morbidities and hospital re-hospitalizations (Jurišković & Smrekar, 2020). Other empirical findings by Bartl and Bartl (2019) established that more than one-third of falls are preventable, and hence the greater need for healthcare organizations to focus on keeping the patient safe and assisting the patient to recover or maintain their mental and physical functions. This paper attempts to gather relevant empirical and conceptual evidence on the problem of falls and fall injuries in the hospital setting as a key concern for patients, their families, healthcare practitioners and hospital administrators. Implementing Fall Prevention Processes in The Hospital Setting Essay

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Background

Jurišković and Smrekar (2020) explained that a multiple range complex and inter-related factors are responsible for the occurrence of falls in the hospital settings. Whilst older people, (aged 65 years and above) are considered to be increasingly vulnerable to falls. Other individual intrinsic factors behind the high rates of falls in the United States include: impaired balance, vision problems, urinary incontinence, delirium, muscle weakness, confusions, agitations, comorbidities and behavioral distance (Zubkoff et al., 2018). Equally noteworthy changes in transient factors including polypharmacy, postural hypotension have also been identified to play a major role in contributing to the increased risk of falls among hospitalized patients (Heng et al., 2020). Bartl and Bartl (2019) added that differences in the physical context may also exacerbate the risk of falls, particularly within the bedside chair, beside, bathroom and other environments that may be affected by poor lighting, improper equipment, slippery floors, lack of safety equipment, new environment, inaccessible windows, doors, and high bed position, among others. In sum, the causes of falls are multi-factorial in nature, and hence any attempt to prevent falls and fall injuries in the hospital setting must take into consideration the risk factors, causes and driving forces behind the increasing rates of falls. Implementing Fall Prevention Processes in The Hospital Setting Essay

The Challenges of Falls Prevention

Research has shown that whilst fall prevention is a key intervention aimed at tackling the problem of falls and fall injuries in the hospital problem, the growing demand for inter-disciplinary approach to care may press immense pressure on fall prevention plan (Heng et al., 2020). Zubkoff et al. (2018) explained that multi-stakeholder collaboration in fall prevention efforts may require a good deal of resources and competencies and hence the greater need for enhancing coordination in order to ensure the realization of high-quality, comprehensive and tailored fall prevention strategies to suit the distinct needs and demand of the patient’s specific risk profile.

Fall Screening and Assessment

A key step toward the realization of effective fall prevention is to conduct comprehensive and systematic screening and assessment of the risk factors behind the occurrence of falls among individual resident/patient. Jiang and Tian (2022) explained that the varying levels of risk of falling and experiencing fall-related injury must be taken into greater consideration as the fundamental basis for determining the risk factors, severity of each risk factors, the number of risk factors and proper interventions to effectively tackle them. Jurišković and Smrekar (2020) elaborated that the utilization of fall risk predication tools and models can assist in calculate and determine a score for the patient’s risk of falling, and hence enabling an enhanced identification of the specific risk factors in order to inform enhanced nursing judgment. Implementing Fall Prevention Processes in The Hospital Setting Essay

Can falls in hospitals be prevented?

The main question under analysis in this short assignment is whether there exist effective fall prevention strategies and interventions that may assist to reduce the occurrence of falls and fall-related injuries in hospitalized patients. LeLaurin and Shorr (2019) explained that a combination of interventions such as the use of bed and char alarms, bed signage, wristbands, urinalysis, medication review, and routine prescription of vitamin D have proven safe and effective in preventing falls amidst concerns over varying levels of success. Other findings by Heng et al. (2020) revealed that the comprehensive assessment of toileting, mobility, vision, medication review, orthostatic blood pressure, confusion (delirium and dementia) is vital in determining the implementation of fall prevention interventions. Zubkoff et al. (2018) argued that the timely provision of mobility aids such as walking frames and sticks, the use of pictorial signage, reducing clutter and the use of proper spectacles, footwear, and hearing ways may also play a fundamental role in tackling some of the environmental risk factors behind the occurrence of falls and fall injuries in the hospital settings. Implementing Fall Prevention Processes in The Hospital Setting Essay

Implementing fall prevention processes in the hospital setting

Research has indicated that the design and adoption of fall prevention interventions may prove to be particularly daunting in the different healthcare settings. LeLaurin and Shorr (2019) established that the realization of multi-professional team working may assist in the mobilization and involvement of frontline staff in the development and implementation of fall prevention interventions. Similar sentiments are shared by Jiang and Tian (2022) who emphasized the centrality of effective and transformational leadership at the board and ward levels. Moreover, the provision of multi-professional training and education may prove to be highly instrumental in equipping the involved staff with key skills, competencies, capabilities and knowledge to implement evidence-based fall prevention strategies through active engagement and commitment to achieving and maintaining a superior patient safety culture.

Adherence and Monitoring

Chu (2017) established that the sustainability of execution and adherence plays a major function in determining the effectiveness and efficiency of any fall prevention programme or strategy. Similar sentiments are shared by Bartl and Bartl (2019) who pointed out the need to adopt clear tools and measures in order to enhance compliance to the key aspects of the fall prevention plan, and to focus on the provision of sufficient monitoring and evaluation data on the direction, outcomes and impact of a falls prevention strategy and/or program. These findings illustrated the greater need for identifying and tackling some of the pertinent adherence issues in the clinical practice with the core intention of enhancing patient care outcomes including access to high-quality and safe care. The provision of tailored patient education was also identified in the reviewed literature as one of the most viable means for the development and implementation of successful patient-centered falls prevention programs in a variety of contemporary hospital environments and diagnoses (LeLaurin & Shorr, 2019). Implementing Fall Prevention Processes in The Hospital Setting Essay

Conclusion

The findings presented in this assignment reveals the centrality of falls prevention in reducing the adverse effects associated with the occurrence of falls and fall-related injuries in the hospital settings. Strong emphasis must be placed on the implementation of evidence-based, patient-centers falls prevention programs and strategies in order to prevent, manage and reduce the detrimental effects of falls on health and patient care outcomes. Further investigation into the topic may shed more light on falls prevention as a pertinent research topic in clinical practice and policy.  Implementing Fall Prevention Processes in The Hospital Setting Essay

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References

Bartl, R., & Bartl, C. (2019). Falls and fall prevention. The Osteoporosis Manual, 263-263. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00731-7_33

Chu, R. Z. (2017). Preventing in-patient falls. Nursing, 47(3), 24-30. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.nurse.0000512872.83762.69

Heng, H., Jazayeri, D., Shaw, L., Kiegaldie, D., Hill, A., & Morris, M. E. (2020). Hospital falls prevention with patient education: A scoping review. BMC Geriatrics, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-020-01515-w

Jiang, L., & Tian, F. (2022). Application of hardware equipment in preventing falls in elderly hospitalized patients. International Journal of Studies in Nursing, 7(2), 53. https://doi.org/10.20849/ijsn.v7i2.1216

Jurišković, M., & Smrekar, M. (2020). An overview of fall prevention strategies among adult patients in hospital settings. Croatian Nursing Journal, 4(2), 205-217. https://doi.org/10.24141/2/4/2/7

LeLaurin, J. H., & Shorr, R. I. (2019). Preventing falls in hospitalized patients. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, 35(2), 273-283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cger.2019.01.007

Zubkoff, L., Neily, J., Quigley, P., Delanko, V., Young-Xu, Y., Boar, S., & Mills, P. D. (2018). Preventing falls and fall-related injuries in state veterans homes. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 33(4), 334-340. Implementing Fall Prevention Processes in The Hospital Setting Essay