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Engaging patients and caregivers in their safety through the use of a visual cue to decrease patient falls: a pilot study
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Keane, Lauren K.. Engaging patients and caregivers in their safety through the use of a visual cue to decrease patient falls: a pilot study. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-7y3y-7923

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TitleEngaging patients and caregivers in their safety through the use of a visual cue to decrease patient falls: a pilot study
NameKeane, Lauren K. (author); Kwong, Jeffrey (chair); Keane, Lauren (co-chair); Zavotsky, Kathleen (outside member); Rutgers University; School of Nursing - RBHS
Date Created2021
Other Date2021-05 (degree)
SubjectFalls, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
Extent1 online resource (70 pages)
DescriptionPurpose: Falls that occur in the hospital setting are a frequent hospital-acquired condition that leads to longer length of stays, increased costs, potentially severe psychological and physical disability, and death. Patients with neurologic disorders suffer from sensory, motor, and cognitive impairments that lead to increased fall risk. This group of patients requires fall prevention strategies tailored to their needs, such as frequent reminders due to impaired memory. Visual aids have been established as a successful strategy to increase awareness of personal health risks and promote risk reduction. In this study, a bedside sign was tested as a visual reminder for those on a neuroscience unit in order to evaluate its effectiveness in fall prevention. Methods: This is a quality improvement project that assessed the effectiveness of a bedside sign as a new approach to fall prevention on a neuroscience pilot inpatient unit. Data was collected over a 12-week period on the number of falls and compliance with the use of the sign. Results: Over the 12-week observation period, 7 falls occurred. Compared to the three-month pre-implementation period, there were 11 falls, representing a 36.36% decrease in falls. There was no significant difference between the numbers of falls on the pilot unit before versus after the implementation of a visual cue (z = -1.17, p = .241). There was 1 fall on the unit during the first 6 weeks of implementation and 5 falls during the last 6 weeks. Compliance with placement of the signs was 86.56% overall. Conclusions: A visual cue can be a feasible method to increase patient engagement in their plan of care that is accepted by providers. During the implementation period, the visual cue was observed to trigger patient education, positive feedback from patients, and engagement with caregivers. Expansion of this project and evaluation on other units is warranted to further analyze the impact on fall reduction, education, satisfaction and improve overall patient safety.
NoteDNP
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
Genretheses, ETD doctoral
Persistent URLhttps://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-7y3y-7923
LanguageEnglish
CollectionSchool of Nursing (RBHS) DNP Projects
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.
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