Person-centered falls prevention and management in neurological post-operative patients: a best practice implementation project.

Background: Accidental falls among inpatients are a significant cause of hospital-acquired injury. Appropriate evidence-based strategies to prevent falls and standard operating procedures for fall prevention and management are vital to mitigate the risk of falls in hospitals.

Objective: The objective of this study was to improve fall prevention practices among health care practitioners and post-operative patients in a neurology ward through the implementation of evidence-based practices.

Methods: This project followed the seven-phase JBI Evidence Implementation Framework, which uses a pre- and post-test audit methodology. A baseline audit was conducted of fall management practices among 60 health care staff and 40 patients in a hospital in Taiwan. Using the baseline audit results, barriers to best practices were identified and improvement strategies were developed to address the barriers. A follow-up audit was conducted to measure improvements.

Results: Post-implementation audit compliance rates improved from baseline. Specifically, the compliance rate for Criteria 1, 3, 5, and 10 increased to 100%. Compliance also increased for Criteria 2 (90%), 4 (93%), 6 (95%), 7 (95%), 8 (88%), 9 (88%), and 11 (97%).

Conclusion: This study used best practices to reduce the incidence of falls, which did not exceed 0.08%. Key factors contributing to the success of the project included a democratic approach to leadership, multidisciplinary interventions, the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle, and on-the-job training for nurses.

Spanish abstract: http://links.lww.com/IJEBH/A409.