Date of Conferral
3-30-2026
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
School
Nursing
Advisor
Susan Huehn
Abstract
Inpatient falls are a common and preventable problem that affects health care costs, patient safety, and clinical quality. Inpatient falls occur within hospitals, cause harm, extend hospitalization, and require additional healthcare funding. Falls harm a patient’s physical health and cause emotional trauma, decrease patient satisfaction, and undermine confidence in the hospital care systems. Falls are therefore a significant concern in the nursing practice environment because nurses form the first component of prevention, monitoring, and intervention. This doctoral project aimed to re-educate and reinforce staff understanding of clinical guidelines to prevent inpatient falls through evidence-based interventions targeting environmental, behavioral, and organizational risk factors. The project’s guiding practice question was the following: What is the impact of education on current practice guidelines? The project included multi-factorial interventions to prompt patient safety maximization and equitable care in heterogeneous patient groups. The analysis techniques included a systematic literature review, quantitative and qualitative data synthesis, and a critical analysis of content expert review with the AGREE II tool. Evidence supports multi-factorial interventions related to the environment; patient education, use of standardized fall-risk assessment tools, and staff training are associated with decreased rate and severity of falls. The quality of the guidelines was high, with the best score on the items on the scope and purpose (M = 6.7/7). CPG implementation has the potential to affect nursing practice in terms of favorable patient outcomes, meeting the special needs of the high-risk groups.
Recommended Citation
Constantine, Merlina, "Falls in Inpatient Hospital Settings" (2026). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 19744.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/19744
