Quality Improvement Fall prevention fixed.doc - Running...

Running head: QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN FALL PREVENTION 1
Quality Improvement in Fall Prevention
Thi Tran
Grand Canyon University
HLT-362V
May 5, 2019

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN FALL PREVENTION
Quality Improvement in Fall Prevention
In past recent months, the fall rates have increased dramatically in Monrovia Memorial
Hospital. The data estimates there are twenty falls per month. Most of the patients in this hospital
are older adult, over 65 years old, with multiple chronic conditions, such as diabetes,
hypertension, congestive heart failure, unsteady gait. In order to prevent the rate, the hospital
needs to work on quality improvement (QI) to reduce fall risk. The aim of this essay is to
overview the falls among hospital, the outcomes of QI from previous research, steps to initiate
QI and how to evaluate the outcomes of QI
Overview the Falls among Hospital and Importance of QI
According to American Nurse Association (ANA) in 2015, there are approximately
25,500 American died from fall in health care setting, and more than 84% of adverse events in
hospital patients are associated with fall, especially in geriatric population. Center for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) states more than 28,000 elderly died from fall, and one in four
older adult reports falling every day. Fall in senior is very dangerous because it can lead to head
injury, laceration, hip fracture, increasing morbidity and mortality, fear or mobility that impact
quality of life. In 2014, CDC estimates falls among older adults cost the U.S health care system
$34 billion medical bills due to prolong hospitals stays. Identifying risk factors will help the
health care providers to create appropriate plan to prevent fall risks. ANA reports 38% to 78% of
falls happens during hospitalized geriatric patients. QI plays a significant role to reduce fall risks
among geriatric population in hospital. Agency Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) in
2018 states the purpose of QI projects is to improve the health of population, provide better
patient care and reduce medical cost. In the article of Fierce Healthcare, MacDonald (2016)
provides some examples to prove the effect of QI in decreasing fall risks in hospitals. In this

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN FALL PREVENTION
article, after five hospitals follow Joint Commission recommendation to prevent fall, the falls
rate with injury reduce 62% and patient fall rate drops by 35%. The Joint Commission indicates
six issues contributes to falls in hospital, such as fall risk assessment, hand-off communication,