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Patient safety: using a visual cue to decrease patient falls
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Lund, Nisha. Patient safety: using a visual cue to decrease patient falls. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-g7wk-mz78

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TitlePatient safety: using a visual cue to decrease patient falls
NameLund, Nisha (author); Kwong, Jeffrey (chair); Russell, Mary Beth (member); Rutgers University; RBHS School of Nursing
Date Created2022
Other Date2022-05 (degree)
SubjectNursing, Bedside sign, Engagement, Fall, Patient safety, Prevention of falls, Visual cue
Extent99 pages : illustrations
DescriptionPurpose: While many practices are in place to prevent falls, such as screening for falls upon admission, falls continue to pose a major problem in the inpatient setting. The consequences of a fall can lead to longer inpatient stays, unnecessary injuries, and death. Nearly 1 million falls occur in the inpatient setting resulting in costs of approximately $40 billion per year. Oncology patients have a unique set of risk factors placing them at a higher risk for falls, thus resulting in an unmet need. A review of the literature demonstrated that current measures for fall prevention display inconsistency with communication and engagement between providers and patients. Studies show that a visual cue can enhance a patient’s awareness of their personal risk and can help to decrease those risks. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the use of a simple visual cue and patient engagement to prevent falls on two oncology units and one bone marrow transplant unit. Methods: To enhance communication and engagement with patients, this quality improvement project evaluated the effectiveness of a bedside visual cue as an approach to preventing falls for oncology patients involving a total of 62 beds. Over a 12-week period, data regarding falls and compliance of the bedside sign were collected on a weekly basis on random days and recorded on a data collection tool. Results: Outcomes measured the assessment of falls and compliance with the usage of the bedside sign. During the pre-implementation phase, the total falls on all three units was 13. Post-implementation, there was a total of 10 falls on tall three units, thus resulting in a 23.07% decrease in falls which was not significant (p = 0.473). There was a significant decrease in the number of injuries from pre-implementation with 5 falls to post-implementation with 0 falls (p = .025). Overall compliance with the bedside sign was 99.57% throughout the implementation period. Implications for Practice: The use of a bedside sign with patient engagement is a feasible method to include within prevention programs for falls. The presence of a bedside sign was noted to increase a patient’s awareness of personal risks of falls as well as staff engagement. Though there was no significant decrease in the number of falls, there was a statistically significant decrease in injuries associated with falls. The results suggest this intervention should be expanded to other units for a larger sample size and for a longer duration to determine the overall impact on fall reduction, patient satisfaction, patient safety, and education.
NoteD.N.P.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
Genretheses
Persistent URLhttps://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-g7wk-mz78
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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