Date of Conferral

2-9-2026

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Melissa Rouse

Abstract

Patient falls remain a significant patient safety concern in emergency departments (EDs) despite the routine use of fall risk screening tools. At the project site, continued fall events suggested a gap in staff knowledge, confidence, and consistent application of evidence-based fall prevention strategies. This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) quality improvement project evaluated whether a targeted staff education intervention would improve ED nursing staff's knowledge, confidence, and intent to identify fall risk, implement prevention strategies, and respond appropriately to patient falls. Guided by the Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate (ADDIE) instructional design model, an evidence-based educational intervention was developed and delivered during an in-person staff education session. A pre-and post-education survey assessed knowledge using multiple-choice questions and confidence an intent using Likert-scale items. Fifteen ED nurses and support staff participated. Results demonstrated significant improvements following the intervention, with knowledge scores increasing from 26.7% to 80%, confidence scores improving from 2.67 to 3.6, and intent to implement fall prevention strategies increasing from 33.3% to 86.7%. Findings indicate that a brief, targeted educational intervention can efficiently enhance ED staff knowledge, confidence, and intent related to fall prevention. This project supports the use of staff education as a feasible and impactful strategy to promote patient safety, reduce preventable harm among vulnerable populations, and foster a culture of safety in the ED. The intervention is adaptable and may be replicated across other emergency and acute care settings to improve fall prevention outcomes.

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