Graduation Year

2018

Degree Type

Open Access Capstone

Document Type

Capstone

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Department

Nursing

Department Name when Degree Awarded

Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing

First Advisor

Donna J. Corley

Department Affiliation

Nursing

Second Advisor

Fontaine Sands

Department Affiliation

Nursing

Abstract

Falls among the elderly are a significant problem with severe consequences. Residents of long-term facilities account for twenty percent of fatal falls. It is imperative that evidence-based practices be implemented at this level of care to address this problem. A multifaceted evidence-based fall prevention program was implemented at a 70 bed, skilled nursing, long-term care facility located in Florida, whose fall rate of 7.14 is above than the national average (2.74-5.48). The fall prevention program included staff education, implementation of a checklist for universal fall precautions, post fall huddles, and the appointment of a falls champion. One-month post intervention results included a statistically significant increase in pre-test post-test knowledge (two-tailed p-value .004) and 100% compliance in conducting post-fall huddles. As the evidence demonstrates, fall rates should decrease as a result of implementing targeted multifactorial programs. On-going surveillance will be needed to evaluate the impact of these interventions on the long-term fall rate within the facility.

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