Impact of a Patient-Centered Fall Prevention Toolkit on Medical-Surgical Patients

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Published in:ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (2025)
Main Author: Premadasan, Lakshmipriya
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ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
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Abstract:Falls may result in adverse patient and hospital outcomes. At the project site, patient-tailored fall prevention interventions were not in place, leading to a high number of falls, so an evidence-based solution was sought. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to determine if the implementation of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Fall Tailoring Interventions for Patient Safety (TIPS) fall prevention tool would impact the number of falls among medical-surgical inpatients. The project was piloted over a 12-week period in a suburban California acute care hospital. Betty Neuman’s systems nursing theory and Kurt Lewin’s three-step change model provided the scientific underpinnings for the project. Data were collected from the electronic health record for 3,110 patients (n = 1,459 in the comparison group and n = 1, 651 in the implementation group). An independent samples t-test was conducted and showed a non-statistically significant reduction in the average weekly number of falls between the comparison group (M = 1.67, SD = 1.36) and the implementation group (M = 1.17, SD = 1.19), t (22) = .956, p = .348. Clinical significance was evident in the 30% reduction in the total falls between the comparison group (20 falls) and the implementation group (14 falls). Based on these findings, implementing the Fall TIPS Toolkit may reduce falls in this patient population. Recommendations include disseminating the results and continuing the project for a longer period to collect more data on changes in fall numbers.
ISBN:9798310320260
Source:ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global