SNPG 905 - Project Proposal: Audit of Falls Prevention in Aged Care

This project proposal outlines a quality audit of falls prevention practices among nurses in an aged care facility. The project aims to evaluate the extent to which nurses follow established fall prevention guidelines and identify gaps in their knowledge and skills. An observational audit will be conducted over four weeks, followed by data analysis to compare findings with existing literature. The ultimate goal is to provide recommendations for future research, inform policy changes, and improve the quality of care provided to older adults, reducing fall-related injuries and hospitalizations. The project aligns with the aged care setting's commitment to person-centered and safe care practices.

Running head: PROJECT PROPOSAL
Project Proposal
Name of student:
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PROJECT PROPOSAL
Falls prevention activity audit for nurses in residential aged care setting
While Australian aged population are known to have longer life expectancy, falls and fall
related injury contribute to a significant proportion of injuries, leading to hospitalizations
(safetyandquality.gov.au, 2012). Research indicates that fall is one of the leading causes of harm
to older adults in care. Healthcare professionals therefore are accountable for preventing falls as
far as possible and minimizing the inconvenient effects (Sherrington et al., 2017). Professionals
must be engaging themselves in safe care practices regarding fall prevention, and keep
themselves updated regarding new policies implemented.
The proposed project aims to carry out a significant quality audit of fall prevention practices
among nurses working in the aged care facility with the help of an audit tool. The main project
goal would be to understand the extent to which nurses follow fall prevention guidelines set for
practice in the setting and the future need of providing education to the workforce regarding the
same. The primary objectives of the project are as follows-
 Evaluate through an observational audit, the nurse’s practice of fall prevention strategies
within the aged care setting
 To understand the gaps in knowledge and skill level of nurses in engaging in the fall
prevention activities
The aged care setting is a reputed for providing high quality care services to those in the later
stages of life. The setting strives to make a mark in the healthcare arena by ensuring person-
centered and safe care practices to the service users. The audit would be undertaken over four
week period and the data analysis would be done over the following four weeks. The analysis
would be crucial in comparing the existing literature on the concerned topic gathered from other

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PROJECT PROPOSAL
similar settings and the proposed research findings. Recommendations would be provided for
future research and changes in nursing practice for the betterment of quality of care provided.
Policy changes might be informed on the basis of the key findings (Holloway & Galvin, 2016).

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PROJECT PROPOSAL
References
Holloway, I., & Galvin, K. (2016). Qualitative research in nursing and healthcare. John Wiley
& Sons. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=EKu-
DAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR11&dq=healthcare+research,
+book&ots=1aaG7NO3al&sig=WrPsKlqO3BovC9A5gtBVPexWbS0#v=onepage&q=he
althcare%20research%2C%20book&f=false
Safetyandquality.gov.au. (2012). Preventing Falls and Harm From Falls in Older People.
[online] Available at:
https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Guidelines-RACF.pdf
[Accessed 9 Aug. 2018].
Sherrington, C., Michaleff, Z. A., Fairhall, N., Paul, S. S., Tiedemann, A., Whitney, J., ... &
Lord, S. R. (2017). Exercise to prevent falls in older adults: an updated systematic review
and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med, 51(24), 1750-1758. DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2016-096547