Utilizing quality improvement methods to prevent falls and injury from falls: Enhancing resident safety in long-term care

Abstract

Introduction Internationally, the growing evidence related to preventable adverse events within healthcare settings has resulted in the creation of numerous patient safety and quality improvement initiatives. In Canada, Safer Healthcare Now!, a national patient safety initiative of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, and the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, the professional association representing registered nurses in Ontario, have partnered to combine quality improvement expertise with evidence-based practice expertise to accelerate improvement in the area of falls prevention and injury reduction. The synergistic relationship between Safer Healthcare Now! and the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario has resulted in the evolution of the Safer Healthcare Now! national Falls Prevention intervention. The ultimate goal of the Falls Prevention intervention is to improve care by translating “what we know” into “what we do,” by supporting quality improvement teams to make changes at the local level to enhance the patient experience. Method This article provides an overview of Safer Healthcare Now! as a national patient safety initiative, and highlights the results of a National Collaborative on Falls Prevention as a knowledge translation strategy utilized within the long-term care setting. A description of expanding supports for knowledge translation will also be provided.