Date of Conferral

8-2-2025

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Theresa Parenteau

Abstract

Falls are the most common adverse events leading to increased injury, length of hospital stay, and costs among hospitalized patients. I developed a staff education project to address the identified practice problem of increased fall rates on the cardiac floor of the project site. The practice-focused question guiding this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was whether a comprehensive staff education program on evidence-based fall prevention strategies could improve the nurses’ knowledge when compared to standard fall prevention practices. The purpose of this DNP project was to provide staff education to increase nurses’ knowledge about the early identification of fall risk factors and the implementation of evidence-based fall prevention strategies. A PowerPoint presentation was used for staff education, and pre- and posttests were administered to assess participants’ knowledge before and after the educational sessions. I employed descriptive statistics to analyze the collected data, and the results showed a statistically significant improvement in participants’ scores from preeducation (73%) to posteducation (86%). The limitations of the study were a small sample size and a single setting. Recommendations include continued fall prevention educational programs for nurses and evaluation of the program’s effectiveness by assessing the nurses’ knowledge. This fall prevention education in nursing practice has positive implications for reducing falls and fall-related injuries as well as improving patient outcomes. This education also contributes to positive social change by fostering equity and inclusion in healthcare by ensuring that all patients, regardless of background, receive culturally sensitive and equitable care.

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