Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Melissa Rouse

Abstract

AbstractThe correlation between patient falls and nurse-patient ratios in acute care has been a prevalent topic for decades. The lack of nurse-patient ratio guidelines to direct nurse staffing has restricted nursing leaders’ efforts to address this issue. The purpose of this staff education project was to educate nursing leaders on nurse-patient ratios and their association to patient falls. The practice-focused question centered on whether education would increase nursing leaders’ knowledge about appropriate staffing ratios and practices to reduce falls at a long-term acute care facility. Rogers’s diffusion of innovations theory was the change model used to guide this project. There were 11 participants including charge nurses, nurse managers, and nurse supervisors. A pretest was administered to assess participants’ existing knowledge about staffing using current nurse-patient ratio guidelines, and a posttest was administered to assess their increase, if any, in knowledge after the educational program. At the conclusion of the project, participants completed a program evaluation. Descriptive statistics were used to compare and analyze the differences between the pre- and posttest scores. The project findings revealed an increase in participant knowledge. Pretest overall scores were 61%, and posttest overall scores were 97%. Conducting fall risk assessments and hiring ancillary staff and agency nurses were among the recommendations arising from this education project. The project’s implications for positive social change include providing evidence that nursing leaders at the project site can use to revise nurse-patient staffing ratios and other staffing practices. Implementation of these measures may reduce falls in the long-term acute care unit and promote quality of care.

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