Engaging With Hospital Staff to Develop Implementation Strategies For Delivering a Patient Falls Prevention Education...

Hospital falls can be reduced through patient and staff education, yet limited evidence exists about how staff can systematically implement patient falls prevention education. Planning implementation with staff may enhance their acceptance, engagement, and delivery of falls education to hospital patients.

The objective of the study was to design an implementation plan with hospital staff to guide the successful delivery of patient falls education.

Three participatory workshops using a world café methodology were conducted in 1 Western Australian and 2 Victorian hospitals. Participants were presented with information about a patient falls education program called "Safe Recovery" and discussed program implementation strategies. Conversation topics were staff education and training needs, ward support, and organizational requirements. Table discussions were captured on paper and analyzed iteratively at the forum. Subsequently, workshop field notes were analyzed using inductive content analysis.

Sixty-two hospital staff (n = 42 nurses, n = 12 allied health, n = 8 other) participated in the workshops. Participants considered the implementation process would be enabled at: (1) individual level, by providing accessible and flexible training to optimize staff engagement; (2) ward level, by establishing clear implementation protocols, engaging and supporting team leaders, and (3) ensuring clear communication between staff, patients, and families; and (4) organizational level, by leadership supporting sustained implementation. Group consensus was that it was important to have a single, agreed vision to implement the Safe Recovery Program.

Staff engagement facilitated the development of a shared vision and structured plan to implement a patient falls prevention education program on hospital wards.