Date of Award

Fall 12-13-2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Greene, Debbie

Second Advisor

Sewell, Jeanne

Third Advisor

Brooks, Sarah

Abstract

Abstract

Prevention of inpatient falls remains a challenge for nurses. Despite fall prevention efforts by nurses, the rate of patient falls in the acute care setting is a major safety concern. The aim of this translational project is to implement an evidence-based fall prevention program at a small community hospital, based on the Morse Fall Scale with targeted interventions to decrease fall rates. Research indicates the best practices for nurses to manage patients at-risk for falls and using fall prevention strategies that will keep patients safe from falls during hospitalization. The three phases of this project, included development of the fall-risk program in the Paragon Electronic Medical Record, implementation of an educational intervention, measurement of program compliance and fall rate outcomes. The fall-risk program was effective in decreasing the fall rate from 1.4 to 0.0 falls per 1,000 patient days for two consecutive months after the implementation the educational intervention. Results from this project support the use of the Morse Fall Scale with evidence-based targeted interventions to decrease fall rates.

Keywords: falls in acute care setting, targeted fall prevention interventions, fall-risk assessments, fall prevention, Morse Fall Scale

Included in

Nursing Commons

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