Date of Conferral
10-20-2026
Date of Award
October 2026
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
School
Nursing
Advisor
Dr. Melissa Rouse
Abstract
This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project involved evidence-based practice and quality improvement methods and resulted in staff education. The gap in practice was increased patient falls on a psychiatric inpatient unit. Within this practice area, the impact of the effects of psychotropic medications, intellect, and behavioral fall risk, combined with the lack of consistent fall prevention practices and psychiatric staff education, exacerbated the issue. This problem is relevant to practice because falls are a significant source of patient injury. As such, nurses are primarily accountable for conducting fall risk assessments and interventions. The project addressed the practice question of whether an educational staff program would increase nurses’ knowledge and confidence regarding fall prevention. The aim of the project was to standardize a psychiatric staff education program that isolated the behavioral components of fall risk. I used descriptive statistics and a paired comparison of participant knowledge and confidence, measured pre- and posteducation, through an eight-item and a two-item survey, respectively. The 24 nurse participants showed projected gains, with mean knowledge score increasing from 68% before the education to 91% afterward and mean confidence increasing from 3.1 to 4.4 on a 5-point scale, indicating that the staff education improved their knowledge and confidence in fall prevention. The project focused on improving nursing practices and impacting positive social change by increasing patient safety and creating more consistent, equitable care for a marginalized psychiatric population through a replicable staff education program.
Recommended Citation
Arinze, Ebele, "Staff Education to Improve Nurses’ Knowledge and Confidence in Fall Prevention in a Psychiatric Inpatient Unit" (2026). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 20858.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/20858
