Introduction
Falls in senior patients is a frequently met occurrence. They can cause fall-related traumas and psychological distress. Repeated falls (when a patient falls two or more times) can result in the emergence of anxiety disorder and other conditions. Falls in senior hospitalized individuals influence institutions as well, which is reflected in client dissatisfaction, increased expenses, and higher mortality. The purpose of the paper is to dwell upon an intervention aimed at minimizing patient falls.
Descriptive Statement
One in every four senior patients falls, which also results in traumatization. As a consequence, healthcare institutions experience greater expenditures, and nurses are overloaded with duties. Therefore, the need for appropriate clinical interventions is clear (Ungar et al., 2013). At present, hospitals have specific fall prevention programs, which require increased nursing care, hourly rounding, and other approaches; nevertheless, the evidence suggests that they are ineffective and other interventions should be considered. According to the latest research, the issue of falls in senior patients can be addressed through refined patient education and their participation in regular exercise. The evidence suggests that physical therapy has the potential to improve a patient’s balance and stability through enhanced muscle tone, which leads to minimizing falls (Noll, 2013). This assumption should be either confirmed or invalidated. The timeframe for testing this intervention is three months since it is an adequate amount of time to achieve the necessary outcome and analyze its efficiency.
Rationale
The proposed plan is viable for the clinical issue since it will allow reducing the problem to a significant degree using the available resources. The intervention will imply using the elements of such educational programs as A Matter of Balance, Stepping On, or Otago Exercise Program. The evidence suggests that they prevent falls in more than 30% of senior patients (Carande-Kulis, Stevens, Florence, Beattie, & Arias, 2015). The plan will require educating nurses regarding the correct exercises so that they can instruct their patients and patient families correctly. Nurses will perform as leaders and observe if senior patients exercise regularly. Several educational sessions will be enough to provide nurses with the necessary knowledge and skills. Since the staff is aware of the individual peculiarities of each patient, they will adjust the program in accordance with the needs of each individual.
Resources
The major resources needed include expenditures to educate staff on the chosen intervention program. In addition, nurses will have to allocate their time to learn the essential techniques and instructional methods. To implement these educational sessions, the hospital will have to allocate money and time to educate nurses (Kenny, Romero-Ortuno, & Kumar, 2016). The minor expenses include handout materials to support patients’ understanding and audio-visual aids (DVDs, screen, projection light). These tools will help to ensure that patients do not need to put much effort into memorization. Nurses will observe patients prevent traumatization and instruct their families so that they can support patients when they are exercising on their own.
Stakeholders
The primary stakeholders include senior patients (who are 65 and older) because they will experience the immediate effects of the intervention (Bourne, 2016). Nursing personnel belongs to this group as well since they will play the main role in providing education to patients. The secondary stakeholders are patients’ families since they will be partially engaged in ensuring the intervention is implemented fully. Hospital administration can also be included in this category since it will calculate the aftermath of the project’s implementation.
Projected Benefit
The benefits of the proposed plan will be reflected in greater safety of patients through improved muscle tone, which will ensure that senior individuals can control their gait and balance (Noll, 2013). The possibility of fall-related injuries will be minimized as well. These factors will result in decreased mortality. The financial benefits will be reflected in reduced expenses, which, as a rule, are made to remedy the consequences of falls. The return on investment (on the example of the Otago Exercise Program) is approximately 36%. The cost per participant is 1.34 USD, and the cost per hour for the entire unit is 53.86 USD. The expected benefit based on the research by Carande-Kulis et al. (2015) is 461 USD. Therefore, the advantages of program implementation clearly outweigh the expenditures.
Concluding Points
Thus, immediate interventions are required to address the issue of falls in senior individuals. Traumatization of hospitalized patients is a frequently met occurrence, which results in client dissatisfaction and increased costs for institutions. The proposed plan has the potential to resolve this urgent issue while bringing multiple benefits for hospitals and patients.
References
Bourne, L. (2016). Stakeholder relationship management: A maturity model for organisational implementation. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Carande-Kulis, V., Stevens, J. A., Florence, C. S., Beattie, B. L., & Arias, I. (2015). A cost-benefit analysis of three older adult falls prevention interventions. Journal of Safety Research, 52, 65-70.
Kenny, R. A., Romero-Ortuno, R., & Kumar, P. (2016). Falls in older adults. Medicine, 45(1), 28-33.
Noll, D. R. (2013). Management of falls and balance disorders in the elderly. The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, 113(1), 17-22.
Ungar, A., Rafanelli, M., Iacomelli, I., Brunetti, M. A., Ceccofiglio, A., Tesi, F., & Marchionni, N. (2013). Fall prevention in the elderly. Clinical Cases in Mineral and Bone Metabolism, 10(2), 91-95.