Iterative user centered design for development of a patient-centered fall prevention toolkit

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Patient Safety
• Human Factors Engineering

Background:

• Inpatient falls are a significant concern for patients and healthcare providers.
• Electronic decision support, like Fall T.I.P.S. (Tailoring Interventions for Patient Safety), effectively reduces hospital falls.
• A paper version of Fall T.I.P.S. exists but requires optimization for effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To redesign the paper Fall T.I.P.S. toolkit using human factors techniques.
• To enhance the usability of the paper fall prevention tool.
• To decrease inpatient falls through an improved tool.

Main Methods:

• Applied human factors techniques to redesign the existing paper Fall T.I.P.S. toolkit.
• Involved patients and clinical staff in the redesign process.
• Incorporated a clinical decision support system into the redesigned tool.

Main Results:

• The redesigned paper Fall T.I.P.S. toolkit demonstrated increased ease of use compared to the previous version.
• The redesign process aimed to improve adoption of the tool and fall prevention best practices.
• The new version includes a built-in clinical decision support system.

Conclusions:

• Redesigning the paper Fall T.I.P.S. toolkit with human factors principles enhances usability.
• Involving end-users (patients and staff) is crucial for tool adoption.
• The improved paper toolkit offers a viable solution for inpatient fall prevention in resource-limited settings.