A Patient-Centered Approach to Fall Prevention

Abstract

Practice Problem: In 2019, a rural hospital in South Texas reported 102 incidents of patient falls. Although below the corporate fall rate benchmark of 2.2/1000 patient days, the hospital recognized that it was clinically significant and aimed at improving its fall prevention outcomes. PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was: Among adult patients in the acute care setting would the implementation of patient-centered interventions be more effective compared to the usual fall prevention interventions in reducing incidence of falls one month after implementation? Evidence: Seven pertinent studies, which included a randomized controlled trial and a systematic review, recommended the implementation of patient-centered fall prevention interventions in reducing fall rates in the acute care setting. The studies supported that patient and family engagement were key in reducing fall incidents in the acute care setting. Intervention: The evidence-based intervention involved the utilization of a bedside Fall TIPS (Tailoring Interventions for Patient Safety) poster in promoting patient and family engagement in the fall prevention plan to reduce incidents of falls. Outcome: The project resulted in nurses utilizing the Fall TIPS poster (79%) in engaging patients in their fall prevention plan through knowledge of their fall risk factors (80%) and personalized fall prevention intervention (69%). There was no reduction in fall rate after 30 days of implementation when compared to the previous year’s fall rate of the same month. Conclusion: Although the project did not result in a reduction of fall rate, the implementation of patient-centered interventions using the Fall TIPS poster promoted patient engagement in the fall prevention process.