Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Dr. Anna Hubbard

Abstract

Patient falls are a significant healthcare concern, with the highest risk being among older adults aged 65 and older. A lack of nursing knowledge can contribute to patient falls. This DNP project was conducted in the medical-surgical trauma unit of a 137-bed local rehabilitation center in Northern Georgia. The intention of the project was to understand if a nursing staff education program would increase knowledge regarding falls prevention. Kurt Lewin’s change theory provided the framework for the project. The project participants were nine medical surgical nurses. Using the analysis, design, development, implementation (ADDIE) model, a falls prevention education program was created. Nurses received 4 hours of in person education on how to use the John Hopkins Fall Risk Assessment Tool (JHFRAT). The project adopted a pretest and posttest design, using a 10-item questionnaire. Data were analyzed using a paired t-test, a P-value of 0.05 was considered significant. The pretest results indicated moderate fall prevention knowledge, while the posttest data indicated improved fall prevention knowledge. The aggregate t-test showed and overall p value of 0.0038, which is statically significant. The specific questions that demonstrated significance were: (a) patient factors assessed by the JHFRAT, (b) frequency of fall risk assessment (c) specifics pertaining to JHFRAT instrument, and (d) factors that increase the fall risk of the patients. These findings imply that a fall prevention nursing education program can increase the knowledge of the nursing staff. This DNP project’s findings support social change by providing recommendation for continued training of nursing staff in the care and assessment of patients’ fall risk in the rehabilitation, surgical, medical, and psychology units.

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