Fall Prevention in Skilled Nursing Facilities

Capstone Proposal: Fall Prevention in Skilled Nurse Facilities
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Capstone Proposal: Fall Prevention in Skilled Nurse Facilities
The proposed capstone project topic will focus on implementing evidence-based fall prevention strategies in skilled nursing facilities to reduce the incidence of falls. The project will be set up as an evidence-based quality improvement project. In the following discussion, the setting and relevance of the proposed quality improvement project are reviewed.
The setting for this project is skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), where elderly patients with various health conditions and physical limitations receive long-term care. To this end, skilled nursing facilities are designed to care for patients who have chronic medical conditions, disabilities, or injuries that require ongoing medical care and attention (Prusynski et al., 2021). SNFs are typically staffed by licensed nurses, certified nursing assistants, and other healthcare professionals who work together to provide a comprehensive care plan tailored to each patient's individual needs (Burke et al., 2017).
Given that SNFs are intended to provide care for elderly patients with chronic medical conditions, fall prevention is one of the quality improvement programs that could improve patient outcomes in such facilities. A fall is identified as an event whereby an individual inadvertently rests on the floor or a lower level (Petersen, Konig, & Hajek, 2020). Schoberer et al. (2022) observe that falls among the elderly remain a significant global problem with around 60,000 cases reported every year as per a report by the World health organization in 2018. Castellini et al. (2017) observe that half of the residents enrolled in a nursing home report at least a fall every year, with 10 percent of hospitalized elderly patients experiencing falls (Schoberer et al., 2022).
Notably, it is essential to address falls among the elderly given that falls have not only physical consequences for a patient but also social and psychological consequences. In extreme cases, falls have been observed to lead to accidental deaths among the elderly. Other common consequences of falls among the elderly include fractures, traumatic brain injuries, and a high likelihood that the victim loses their independence (Petersen, Konig, & Hajek, 2020). Owing to the long period that the elderly takes before recovering from a fall, victims of falls have a higher likelihood of experiencing another fall. Petersen, Konig, & Hajek, (2020) report that some of the psychological problems that have been identified in elderly patients who have experienced falls include depression, social isolation, and loneliness. Studies have also reported reduced involvement in physical and social activities among the elderly who have experienced falls (Lavedan et al., 2018).
The quality improvement project aimed at preventing falls in skilled nursing facilities can have several potential positive effects. A successful fall prevention project can improve the quality of care provided by skilled nursin...