Date of Conferral

7-4-2025

Degree

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

School

Public Health

Advisor

Jeanne Connors

Abstract

Falls in nursing home facilities are prevalent, and numbers continue to rise as residents grow older and antipsychotic (AP) medications are prescribed more frequently. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate whether frequency of falls was related to the use of AP medications. Data (N=100) were collected from 2020 incident reports, investigation sheets, and patient charts generated by the State Department of Public Health regarding resident falls and the use of AP medications in a nursing home Facility located in the Southern United States. Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) was used to understand specific behavior patterns such as personal, environmental, and behavior variables. The target population were residents aged 65 and over placed on AP medications after two or more falls in the past two years. Logistic regression was used to analyze the data. The Hosmer and Lemeshow test indicated that the model was a good fit to the data, p =.307. However, age and the use of AP medications were not significant predictors of falls, p =.396. Although males had a higher average number of falls compared to females, this difference was not significant. Further, frequency of falls was not significantly associated with the use of AP medications (p =.755). Similarly, cognitive impairment was not significantly associated with the use of AP medications (p =.918). Although findings were not significant, future research using larger data sources and sample sizes are necessary to determine if this lack of association is valid. Social change happens when the healthcare community adopts a patient-centered approach by examining patient experiences, understanding the reasons behind falls, and identifying contributing factors.

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Available for download on Friday, July 03, 2026

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