Patient Safety Improvement Such As Falls Discussion Post Essay

Patient Safety Improvement Such As Falls Discussion Post Essay

 

Patient Safety: Falls 

Falls are a common occurrence in nursing facilities, affecting a significant proportion of residents. According to AHRQ (2019), approximately half of the 1.6 million residents in U.S. nursing facilities experience a fall each year. Alarmingly, about one-third of those who fall will experience multiple falls within the same year(AHRQ, 2019). Fall-related injuries not only diminish a person’s quality of life but also hinder their ability to perform daily activities. Even when falls do not result in injuries, residents often develop a fear of falling, leading to self-imposed restrictions on their mobility and engagement in activities. According to AHRQ (2019), approximately one in every ten residents who experience a fall suffers a serious injury, and it is estimated that around 65,000 patients endure a hip fracture annually.

The patient-centered practice problem that I have selected for my Capstone Paper is fall prevention in acute care settings. Falls are a common safety issue in healthcare facilities, particularly among elderly and vulnerable patients. Falls can lead to injuries, prolonged hospital stays, increased healthcare costs, and a decline in patient well-being and functional abilities (WHO, 2021). I chose this practice problem because falls pose a significant risk to patient safety and have a substantial impact on patient outcomes. As a healthcare provider, it is essential to prioritize patient safety and implement evidence-based strategies to prevent falls. By focusing on fall prevention in acute care settings, I aim to enhance patient-centered care, reduce adverse events, and improve the overall patient experience.

The conversation I had with the nurse in charge of my geriatric acute practice setting greatly influenced my decision to address the practice problem of fall prevention in acute care settings. The nurse in charge confirmed the significance of falls as a patient safety concern and expressed concern about the increasing number of fall-related incidents and their impact on patient outcomes. Our conversation highlighted the need to prioritize fall prevention strategies and enhance patient safety in our practice setting.

To support the relevance of this problem for nursing practice, I gathered literature that demonstrates the impact of falls on patient safety and the importance of implementing evidence-based fall prevention interventions. A study by Heng et al. (2020) highlights the effectiveness of multifactorial interventions in reducing falls in hospital settings, including patient education. The study emphasizes the role of nurses in fall prevention through risk assessment, environmental modifications, patient education, and staff training (Heng et al., 2020).

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References

AHRQ. (2019). Chapter 1. Introduction and program overview. Ahrq.gov. https://www.ahrq.gov/patient-safety/settings/long-term-care/resource/injuries/fallspx/man1.html

Heng, H., Jazayeri, D., Shaw, L., Kiegaldie, D., Hill, A.-M., & Morris, M. E. (2020). Hospital falls prevention with patient education: a scoping review. BMC Geriatrics, 20(1), 140. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-020-01515-w

WHO. (2021). Falls. Who. int. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/falls

 

Now, consider your current practice setting and think about something specific (I will like to consider making improvement on Patient Safety such as Falls) and relevant to my practice setting that I will like to see improved or changed. Interview a key leader in your practice setting who can confirm that your practice problem is one that should be addressed to enhance delivery or performance in the field. It is important to remember from the beginning that your practice problem must be measurable, and that you identify data that suggests a problem exists, and although this comes up more specifically in Week 2, it is important to consider this from the start.

 

I will like to make Patient Safety problem in my Practice Experience that I will like to be the focus of my Final Paper Project and Capstone Paper, and Storyboard.

 

THIS A DISCUSSION POST ASSIGNMENT

 

Identify a measurable patient-centered practice problem (Patient Safety such as Falls) related to quality or safety and relevant to your practice setting that I will to focus on it in my Capstone Paper and post a brief description of the problem and an explanation of why you selected it. Explain how the conversation you had with the key leader in your practice setting impacted your decision to address this particular practice problem. Be sure to support your practice problem with the literature that indicates the relevance of this problem for nursing practice. Provide evidence from your practice area and describe the data that is available.

 

You will not be collecting any data during the practice experience project; you will use data already available to you in your workplace or other practice setting. Think about the different kinds of data that is shared with you in your work area. For example, data may include patient satisfaction scores, medication error rates, fall, CLABSI or CAUTI rates. Analyzing the data available to you is how you will identify that a quality problem exists. Data identifies potential areas for improvement and monitors the effectiveness of any changes. It is important to obtain baseline data before beginning a quality improvement project and to analyze results during and at the end of a project.

 

Note: The practice problem must be related to patient outcomes. (Staffing cannot be your main practice problem for the completion of the Practice Experience Project and Capstone Paper.)

 

Note: If you use the same practice problem that was presented in the Week 1 Discussion on quality theories, keep in mind that you must be much more specific in this post and explain how it is relevant to your setting and nursing practice.