Falls as a Quality Improvement Issue in Nursing



Falls as a Quality Improvement Issue in Nursing

Introduction

Concerns have been raised about the link between medication use and falls among older persons. However, this link is particularly difficult to characterize. On one hand, the use of medication can be considered an intrinsic factor, because it is specific to the individual. On the other hand, it can be considered an extrinsic factor because it can be modified by medical professionals. In addition, medication use is associated with the treatment of an underlying disease, which may itself be a fall risk. Finally, multiple medications may interact with each other to increase fall risk. This issue of falls management is chosen of its ever increasing rate among the elderly population therefore, the ongoing management issue is the quality imo0rvment of the falls program.

Choice of the Improvement Initiative

Falls heavily impact the quality of life of elders, and they place a burden on healthcare providers and the families of elders. The severity of fall-related injuries can lead to death. Falls accounted for the majority of deaths related to unintentional injuries, which were the fifth leading cause of death in older persons. In the U.S., 13% of the population over the age 65 years accounted for approximately 75% of deaths caused by falls (Kallin, 2004,270-276). The quality improvement plan for falls management will ensure the following:

Establish uniform criteria for action on prevention and care to patients at risk of falls according to the latest scientific evidence available.

Reduce the number of falls in hospitalized patients and adverse effects resulting from them.

Promoting a safety culture among professionals, patients and families.

Data Collection

Secondary Research is aimed at focusing on existing sources of information such as internal document, journal, magazines, Internet etc. Research got permission from the management to use internal material, which are not company confidential. Data collection from secondary research was routinely evaluated to eliminate bias , check the accuracy of data ,make sure it's current and not obsolete ,fit the purpose for what it's collected ,examine the content of the data and to make sure it's dependable . Information centres such as City Business Library and Local Libraries were use to add value to the already existing material at College Library.

Relevance to Practice

Prevention and quality plan improvement facilitate medical practice because of hospitalization increases the risk of falling, because the external environment, diseases and treatments. Patient falls and injuries are devastating to patients, physicians and health care system. One drop can lead to fear of falling and begin to move downwards and activities for people with disabilities, which carries an increased risk of accidents (Kallin, 2004,270-276). Older people are likely to be injured in the fall. Damage will be increased costs of hospitalization and length of stay (Van, 2007,8-55).

Literature Review

The first step in preventing falls is the accurate identification of those elders at risk of falling, so that appropriate measures can be taken in response. A reliable and valid assessment tool is an indispensable instrument for healthcare providers to ...