Nurses' caring attitude: fall prevention program implementation as an example of its importance

BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM: Fall prevention programs are universally multidisciplinary, but nursing care plays the central role. Since October 2008, Medicare has no longer reimbursed acute care hospitals for the costs of additional care required due to hospital-acquired injuries (e.g., injurious falls).

However, fall prevention programs for hospitalized patients have had limited success, and multifaceted strategies for implementing fall prevention programs cannot guarantee success. It is possible that cultivating and sustaining a caring attitude among clinicians is often overlooked as an intervention strategy.

This article discusses the barriers to implementing fall prevention programs in acute care hospitals. The attributional theory of success and failure is used to analyze these barriers. In addition, the author discusses whether a lack of knowledge and/or a lack of caring attitude play a role as the underlying barriers to implementing a successful fall prevention program. A patient's story illustrates patients' expectations for the care environment to center on their needs. Possible educational strategies as interventions for fall prevention programs are discussed.

It is suggested that education goals for nurses need to not only promote their professional knowledge and skills in implementing a fall prevention program but also cultivate their caring attitudes.