Advanced Practice Nurse-Led Statewide Collaborative to Reduce Falls in Hospitals

Area of Science:

• Healthcare quality improvement
• Patient safety research
• Nursing practice

Background:

• Hospital-acquired falls pose a significant risk to patient safety and increase healthcare costs.
• Effective falls prevention strategies are crucial for improving patient outcomes and reducing adverse events.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a team training and coaching program aimed at reducing patient falls in hospital settings.
• To implement and assess unit-based falls prevention initiatives developed through collaborative efforts.

Main Methods:

• Thirty-eight hospitals participated in a 3-month program involving team training, coaching, and mentoring.
• Initiatives focused on enhancing fall risk assessment, implementing structured rounding, and improving postfall assessment protocols.
• Paired t-tests were used to compare pre- and post-intervention fall rates in 23 participating hospitals.

Main Results:

• A statistically significant reduction in patient fall rates was observed post-intervention (P < .01).
• The estimated mean decrease in fall rates was 1.7 falls per 1000 patient days.
• Confidence intervals for the mean decrease were 0.7–2.7 falls per 1000 patient days.

Conclusions:

• Team training combined with coaching effectively reduces patient falls in hospitals.
• Unit-based falls prevention initiatives, focusing on assessment and rounding, are a viable strategy for enhancing patient safety.
• The program demonstrated a measurable impact on reducing falls, highlighting the importance of systematic approaches to patient safety.