Document Type
DNP Project
Publication Date
10-2023
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Faculty Advisor
Sue Penque Ph.D., APRN, ANP-BC, NE-BC
Practice Mentor
AM, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP
Abstract
Significance and Background: Falls are a major health concern in the inpatient and outpatient clinical setting. They are costly for our healthcare system and lead to a sequela of challenges for patients, families and society. These challenges include fear of falling, injury, reduced quality of life, disability and death. Within the primary care setting, a fall risk assessment is required as part of the Welcome to Medicare examination. Primary care providers are reimbursed through the Medical Annual Wellness Visit. The goal of this quality improvement project was to implement a fall risk screening and intervention too for primary care patients aged 65 years and older.
Purpose: This quality improvement project was to implement a fall screen and a fall prevention program. The goal of this project is for the provider to implement a unique fall prevention program for at risk patients and monitor their success during an 8-week time frame.
Methods: The method used for this quality improvement project was The Institute for Health Care Improvement (IHI) Model (PDSA).
Outcome: After reviewing the data, it was found that 57.1% of at-risk patients received a fall prevention tool and 62.5% used one of the fall prevention resources provided. The final results were that 100% percent of these patients state that they did not have a fall during this 8-week allotted time slot.
Discussion: The outcome of this quality improvement project ultimately concludes that a fall screening and a fall prevention tool should be a part of the annual wellness visit to patients receiving care in the primary care setting.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Singh, Manpreet, "Implementing a Fall Screen and Prevention Program in the Primary Care Setting: A Quality Improvement Project" (2023). DNP Projects. 54.
https://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/dnp_projects/54
Comments
A DNP project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice, Sacred Heart University Davis & Henley College of Nursing.