Use of a multifactorial fall protocol in primary care to reduce falls in community dwelling older adults

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dc.contributor.advisorGarcia, Theresa
dc.contributor.authorSmith, Deborah Ann
dc.contributor.committeeMemberMcGarity, Tammy
dc.date.accessioned2021-10-11T19:32:43Z
dc.date.available2021-10-11T19:32:43Z
dc.date.issued2021-08
dc.description.abstractBackground: Falls among older community dwelling adults 65 years and older claim at least one life every twenty minutes in the United States. Falls occur in 28% of community dwelling older adults and result in seven million injuries per year and costs projected to rise above $100 billion within this decade. Primary care practice should implement fall risk screening with multifactorial fall assessments and interventions to avert unnecessary injuries and enhance quality of life. Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to improve management of falls through implementation of an evidence-based multifactorial fall risk protocol in a primary care clinic aimed at decreasing fall rates among community dwelling adults 65 years and older. Method: This QI project used a one-group pretest posttest and retrospective chart review comparison and correlation design to implement the STEADI fall protocol in a primary care clinic. Staff and providers were educated regarding fall risk assessment and preventative interventions guided by the STEADI algorithm. Aims included increasing provider and staff knowledge and decreasing community dwelling patient fall rates. Results: The STEADI fall prevention protocol was used in over 90% of patients 65 years and older. Fall assessments increased by 48% from prior review, and an increase in appropriate referrals as an intervention was associated with high fall risk patients (r = .209, p < .01). Fall rates decreased by 13.4% from pre-implementation (28.8%) to post-implementation (15.4%). Implications: Use of the STEADI fall risk protocol in this primary care clinic improved provider and staff assessment and management of fall risk and decreased fall rates for patients aged 65 and older.en_US
dc.description.collegeCollege of Nursing and Health Sciencesen_US
dc.description.departmentNursing Practiceen_US
dc.format.extent71 pagesen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1969.6/89809
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.subjectolder community dwelling adultsen_US
dc.subjectmultifactorial fall assessmenten_US
dc.subjectSTEADI fall algorithmen_US
dc.subjectfall risken_US
dc.subjectfall rateen_US
dc.titleUse of a multifactorial fall protocol in primary care to reduce falls in community dwelling older adultsen_US
dc.typeTexten_US
dc.type.genreDissertationen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineNursing Practice DNPen_US
thesis.degree.grantorTexas A&M University-Corpus Christien_US
thesis.degree.levelDoctoralen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Nursing Practiceen_US

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