Will building rails as opposed to not building them reduce patient falls for geriatric patients based in a nursing home.

Purpose

As a master’s-prepared advance practice nurse you will have many opportunities to lead evidence-based change in practice. The deliverable at the end of this program is a completed evidence-based practice quality improvement project prepared for dissemination. In this assessment, students will create a project proposal to help guide the development of the evidence-based practice quality improvement project.

Course Learning Outcomes  

Through this assignment, the student will address the following course learning outcomes:

  • CO 1: Apply leadership and management theories, concepts, and models as a foundation for planned change within healthcare delivery settings. (PO 4,5)
  • CO 2: Determine the need for planned change that improves health and organizational outcomes based on a comprehensive needs assessment (PO 4,5)
  • CO 3: Create a plan to lead and evaluate an evidence-informed change initiative in order to promote practice-related outcomes (PO 4,5)

Suggested Due Date

This assignment has a suggested due date of Sunday 11:59 pm MT at the end of Module 6.

Final due date is Sunday 11:59 pm MT at the end of Module 7.

Total Points Possible: 200

Assignment Overview

This assignment will assist you with the information needed to complete the MSN project manuscript for dissemination. In this assignment you will complete all of the sections of the project proposal template.  Some of the sections you have already completed in previous assignments so you are allowed to re-use this information. Make sure to fill out the proposal template completely.

Assignment Instructions

  1. Abide by the Chamberlain College of Nursing Academic Integrity Policy.
  2. Complete all sections of the project proposal template.
  3. Sources older than five years may not be used without the permission of the class professor.
  4. Title page, running head, pagination, subheadings, body of paper, citation of sources, and reference page must follow APA guidelines as found in the current edition of the manual.
  5. Rules of grammar, spelling, word usage, punctuation, sentence and paragraph structure are followed and consistent with formal, scholarly writing as noted in the APA Manual (current edition).
  6. Please note: If you do not receive a proficient rating in any major content category, you can re-submit your assignment with revisions in those content categories to receive a better grade.  You have one additional opportunity to revise after the initial submission in order to make improvements. The initial submission must be a complete paper, rough drafts will not be graded. All revisions must be submitted no later than Sunday of Week 7 at 11:59pm. (You cannot revise your APA for a higher grade in that category)

View a snippet preview of a sample essay on this topic.

Will building rails as opposed to not building them reduce patient falls for geriatric patients based in a nursing home.

Name of the Author
Chamberlain College of Nursing

Section 1:

Rails in care centers can give geriatric patients a feeling of paradise. In fact, older adults can enjoy their advanced age feeling more secure and reminiscing their good old days if only they are assured of their safety while in nursing homes. Geriatrics refers to the medical care extended to the elderly population, which starts mainly at 65 years. This group faces a myriad of issues due to their age, including memory lapses, frail bodies, and many other problems that affect their daily lives. In a bid to keep the elderly safe, family members take them to nursing homes. While these centers provide crucial assistance, unseen challenges arise. For example, patient falls occur often, thus exposing individuals to physical harm. This situation creates a dilemma for caregivers whose commitment is unquestionable. On one side, relatives of affected patients may wrongly perceive caregivers as negligent, yet the workers are indisputably passionate about their work.

Given this predicament, it is vital to explore the best way to ameliorate the issue and ensure patient safety. This paper, therefore, explores the possibility of building rails as an effective intervention to reduce falls for geriatric patients who stay in nursing homes. While it might seem obvious to have such safety measures, it is imperative to recognize the reservations some people express toward the same.  Recently, this subject has elicited a debate among clinical workers, some of whom oppose the use of rails due to the notion that they endanger patients, who climb and fall, while others posit that rails create a sense of isolation (Huny et al., 2020). Conversely, many other doctors and nurses believe that rails are vital in preventing falls. Faced with this scenario, medical researchers explore whether it is more beneficial to build rails or not to build them. Considering the importance of this subject, the MSN Scholar proposes an in-depth project to be undertaken. In addition to the introduction, this proposal contains four other sections, including the review of literature, intervention description, John Hopkins nursing evidence-based practice model, implementation, translation to practice and evaluation, and conclusions and contributions to the profession of nursing

Problem Statement

To better understand the problem the proposed project seeks to address, the use of the Johns Hopkins Question Development Tool is necessary. See Appendix B for comprehensive questions addressed here. The problem here is that the lack of rails in nursing homes exposes geriatric patients to falls. Available data shows that injuries are even deaths occur among older adults due to falls (Valipoor et al., 2020). The information means that more deaths and injuries will continue to occur if this matter remains unaddressed. Sadly, the current practice is riddled with ambiguity since some clinicians consider rails ineffective (Huynh et al., 2020). The problem was identified through quality concerns and variation practice.

Problem Background

The problem is a concern due to the high number of injuries and deaths occurring annually. According to Huynh et al. (2020), up to 55% of nursing home residents fall during their stay, with at least 1,800 others dying due to fall-related injuries. Sadly, survivors grapple with permanent disabilities. It is evident that this problem is serious and requires immediate interventions.

Stakeholders

The proposed project will undoubtedly impact various groups, first among them geriatric patients. Acquiring evidence-based data may require the MSN Scholar to engage older adults affected by this problem. The project will also affect nursing home caregivers since they interact with these patients daily. Policymakers will also be impacted by this undertaking as they may have to consider new interventions. Likewise, private businesses will form part of the stakeholders since they might be required to supply rails if most nursing homes adopt the proposal. Interestingly, psychologist counselors will be impacted as well in case some patients interpret the rails as a means to isolate them.

PICOT Question

Among geriatric patients who experience consistent falls, will building rails as opposed to not building them reduce patient falls in one week?” This question satisfies all the elements of the PICOT framework, including the population, intervention, comparison, outcomes, and time, as illustrated below.

P- Geriatric patients

I- Building rails to ensure they have places to hold onto when walking

C- Placing the elderly in an environment without rails

O- Reduced patient falls

T- 1 week

References to Will building rails as opposed to not building them reduce patient falls for geriatric patients based in a nursing home.

Backman, A., Ahnlund, P., Lövheim, H., & Edvardsson, D. (2023). Nursing home managers’ descriptions of multi‐level barriers to leading person-centered care: A content analysis. International Journal of Older People Nursing19(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1111/opn.12581

Castaldo, A., Giordano, A., Antonelli Incalzi, R., & Lusignani, M. (2020). Risk factors associated with accidental falls among Italian nursing home residents: A longitudinal study (FRAILS). Geriatric Nursing41(2), 75-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2019.06.003

Cheraghi, R., Ebrahimi, H., Kheibar, N., & Sahebihagh, M. H. (2023). Reasons for resistance to change in nursing: An integrative review. BMC Nursing22(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01460-0

Dall’Ora, C., Ball, J., Reinius, M., & Griffiths, P. (2020). Burnout in nursing: A theoretical review. Human Resources for Health18(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-020-00469-9

Donnelly, C., Ashcroft, R., Mofina, A., Bobbette, N., & Mulder, C. (2019). Measuring the performance of interprofessional primary health care teams: Understanding the teams perspective. Primary Health Care Research & Development20, e125.. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1463423619000409

Giovannini, S., Brau, F., Galluzzo, V., Santagada, D. A., Loreti, C., Biscotti, L., Laudisio, A., Zuccalà, G., & Bernabei, R. (2022). Falls among Older Adults: Screening, Identification, Rehabilitation, and Management. Applied Sciences, 12(15), 7934. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12157934

Gliner, M., Dorris, J., Aiyelawo, K., Morris, E., Hurdle-Rabb, D., & Frazier, C. (2021). Patient falls, nurse communication, and nurse hourly rounding in acute care: Linking patient experience and outcomes. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice28(2), E467-E470. https://doi.org/10.1097/phh.0000000000001387

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