Implementing a Fall Prevention Program in Healthcare Organizations

Running head: NURSING
JLP1 — JLP TASK 1: LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE
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Author Note

NURSING1
A.
1. Inpatient falls is one the most commonly encountered clinical situations in
healthcare settings, all across the globe. Falls of patients, during their length of
hospitalization are associated with an increased length of stay, increased
healthcare costs, and greater usage of healthcare resources (Morris & O’Riordan,
2017). This calls for the need of implementing change management in a
healthcare organization, in relation to the implementation of a fall prevention
program.
a. While caring for patients in the hospital, it has been found that falls among
the elderly patients are a matter of serious concern. Most incidents of
inpatient falls generally occur amid the older adults who are aged more
than 75 years (Anderson, Postler & Dam, 2016). These falls eventually
lead to complex interaction between acute illness, frailty, pre-morbid
conditions, and environmental risks, concomitant with a range of
behavioral issues as well. Presence of an unfamiliar healing environment
at the hospital increases the risk of falls. Moreover, the impacts of falls are
associated with substantial physical and psychological complications, and
an apprehension of recurrence, thereby making the identified group of
patients vulnerable (van Loon et al., 2019). Hence, it is necessary to
modify the healthcare environment in a manner that the incidence of
inpatient falls will get considerably reduced. This can be accomplished not
only by changing the layout of the hospital, but by modifying the
perception and approach the healthcare staff have towards the issue.
2. According to Khalifa (2019) falls are an important issue since they lead to internal
bleeding, lacerations or other injuries that augment healthcare utilization and

NURSING2
affect the health and wellbeing of patients. It has been established that healthcare
leaders play a pivotal role in ensuring hospital safety and are also accountable for
disseminating appropriate information about the risks of inpatient falls, while
establishing a range of safety standards for fall prevention. It is imperative for the
healthcare leaders to identify the urgency of bringing about change in fall
prevention practice, in addition to formulating a plan of action that needs to be
followed by the staff (Markle-Reid et al., 2017). The medical officer is expected
to identify the risk factors, following which they are expected to help the staff
understand the impact of inpatient fall on mortality and morbidity. Similarly, fall
prevention programs cannot be successfully accomplished without the
collaborative efforts of the physiotherapist, nurse, pharmacist, occupational
therapist, and podiatrist.
a. According to the World Health Organization (2018) falls are the second
most common reason for unintentional or accidental injury or death
globally and every year around 646 000 individuals die due to falls. With
adults aged more than 65 years being most susceptible to such incidents,
these falls result in more than 17 million loss of DALYs (disability-
adjusted life years). This calls for the need of managing the risk factors
and changing the environment and physical design of the hospital.
3. Every year around 700,000-1,000,000 individuals suffer from falls in hospitals, in
the US. Falls generally occur at a rate of 3-5 patients per 1000 bed-days, and it is
estimated that roughly half of 1.6 million residents in nursing homes fall every
year (AHRQ, 2019). In the USA, every year an estimated $50 billion gets spent
for management of non-fatal fall injuries, together with $754 million for