The Effect of Nursing Discharge Planning Program to Prevent Recurrent Falls, Readmission, and Length of Hospital Stay in the Aged Patients

Background and Purpose: One of the interventions that can be effective in preventing recurrence and readmission due to falls is the use of nursing discharge planning program. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of nursing discharge planning program in preventing recurrent falls and readmission in the elderly referred to the trauma center. Methods: The study was a parallel randomized controlled trial. The data were collected from hospital electronic data, patients' self-report, and injury severity scale. In this study, participants (n = 169) were divided into 2 groups using an Excel-generated random sequence. In the experimental group, a discharge planning program was applied. Individualized training with a booklet for the patient and his primary caregiver was conducted for 4 sessions; each session lasted 30 to 60 minutes. The participants were followed for 6 months. Results: The mean and standard deviation of the participants' age were 76 ± 10 years. Prior to implementation of the program, the participants in the control and intervention groups did not differ significantly in age, independence, cognitive status, and severity of the injury. Postimplementation of discharge planning program, a significant decrease in falls (P < .049), hospitalization readmission (P < .014), length of hospital stay (P < .018), and severity of injury (P < .00) were observed in the intervention group compared with the control group. Discussion and Conclusions: Participants in the discharge planning program experienced lower severity of injury in the subsequent episode of falls. In addition, subjects' readmission and hospital stay were shorter in the experimental group. Discharge planning program is recommended to be implemented in other age-related distributions.