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Data Analysis Data analysis regarding fall prevention should include the quality management department, because the department will be able to put a review process in place to analyze reported fall event information on a routine basis for learning and improvement opportunities. Use of an incident report form for falls that is specifically designed to collect data based on evidence about factors contributing to fall occurrences is important in a fall prevention program. For example, data collected might include time of day, location, activity, orthostasis, and incontinence. From the analysis of the data, one can determine the type of fall, such as accidental, anticipated physiological, unanticipated physiological fall (Morse, 1997) and severity of injury i.e., minor, moderate or major. Analysis of data also enables clinicians, administrators, and risk managers to profile the level of fall risk for their patients, along with actual factors contributing to the falls, including the identification of overall patterns and trends surrounding fall occurrences. Fall rates and the severity of injury to the patient or resident should be considered when analyzing the effectiveness of the fall prevention program. Dissemination of the Project Implementation of a falls prevention program should be accomplished by involving the entire organization, and would include the organization and delivery of training and in-services tailored to the learning needs of the staff in healthcare facility. Once patient health and safety outcomes of a fall prevention program are determined and summarized, the overall evaluation and result may be disseminated to the surrounding community, and to healthcare professionals both locally and nationally. Throughout a fall prevention program, the importance of finding a way to help nursing staff deal with the issue of patient falls is of utmost importance. Ultimately, the authors would like nursing staff to recognize how vital it is to be aware of the possibility of falls among the elderly, and to underscore the nurse’s responsibility to create an environment that will be safe for patients or residents in their care. Implications for Nursing If nurse administrators and educators work to increase knowledge about the incidence of falls in the elderly, and assist in the changing of attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors of nursing staff in relation to fall prevention among the elderly in the long-term care setting, they can help to enhance patient safety in their facilities. Through implementation of a fall prevention program nurse administrators and educators can help health care providers gain more confidence in their abilities to work with elderly persons in regard to fall prevention. The implementation of the program can also assist nursing staff to become more knowledgeable about important fall prevention strategies, and provide them accurate information to share with patients and families. Giving nursing staff the opportunity to achieve excellence by learning ways to reduce the risk of falls in the elderly can effectively provide a means of establishing a safe, high quality care environment. Conclusion Fall prevention is an important and timely issue that needs to be address by all healthcare providers, and especially in the care of the elderly in long-term care facilities. Applying clinical practice guideline recommendations for fall prevention is important to the development of a successful fall prevention program. Implementation of this project will have a positive implications for nurses. The program will enhance nurses’ knowledge and boost their confidence in preventing falls among their residents. An effective fall prevention program can reduce falls and fall related injuries in the elderly long-term care residents, in turn supporting increased cost-effectiveness related to prevention of falls-related injury and mortality.
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Relationships among the Elderly: The Effects on One’s Health and Psychosocial Well Being
Advances in medicine are allowing many adults to live longer lives than previous generations. In fact, the elderly population is becoming one of the largest growing sectors of the present ...
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Nurse’s Legal Plight
A poem...!
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Looks Can Be Deceiving
I asked his family to step out for a moment so I could empty his JP drains. I emptied them into a basin and I noticed that they were very dark. I inspected them a little closer and I noticed it had a ...
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Culturally Competent Nursing in Homecare
Homecare nurses must be culturally aware in order to appropriately care for homecare patients. Culture plays a part in the care of all types of patients but it plays a more important role in homecare.
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The Importance of Supporting Mothers Who Breastfeed
There are many health benefits to breastfeeding children such as lower mortality rates, ideal nutritional values, and long term benefits such as healthy weights and higher intelligence later in life. ...
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Maximizing Pain Relief in Pediatric Patients
Pain management is a complex issue that has become increasingly significant in the nursing profession; so much so that the assessment of pain has become known as the fifth vital sign. This issue ...
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TO GOWN OR NOT TO GOWN?
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) states that standard precautions should be used for all patients and should be enough to prevent the spread of most MRSA cases. However, in acute-care settings ...
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Family Presence During CPR in the Emergency Department
A descriptive survey conducted in 2000 (Myers, et al 2000) investigated attitudes and beliefs of patients’ families and ER staff members about FWR. The survey reported that 98% of patients’ ...
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Keeping a Positive Outlook: My Clinical Experience as a Student Nurse
My experience in my senior year clinical preceptorship was without a doubt unique but I feel its uniqueness was in what I made of it, something every nursing student can do for themselves. If there ...
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Managing Diabetic Patients on Dialysis: The Nurse and Practitioners Role in Multidisciplinary Team Essentials
The chronic state of diabetes mellitus (DM) mainly type II, is an increasingly common cause of end stage renal disease (ESRD) in all countries, accounting for 51% of dialysis patients in the U.S. and ...
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A Solution for Solving the Nursing Shortage? Advantages and Disadvantages of Recruitment of Foreign-Trained Nurses
The Nursing shortage is not only an American dilemma but a phenomenon threatening the entire global community. Developed, as well as undeveloped, countries are experiencing an increasing number of ...
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Memories from a Haitian Cholera Treatment Center
In January and February of this year I worked in Haiti with United States NDMS DMAT and ImSurt teams providing medical and surgical care to the victims of the January 12th earthquake. What I ...
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