Preview
Creation Date
4-19-2016
Description
Fall prevention in adults is imperative to prevent injury during hospitalization. In 2010, it was estimated that costs related to hospital falls was on the breach of surpassing $30 billion (Hill & Fauerbach, 2014). These alarming statistics led to the following scholarly activity project question: When promoting patient safety in the healthcare setting, what is the best evidence-based practice to prevent falls in the adult population? Methods included conducting a literature review, a policy and procedure review, and observation of fall prevention interventions in the clinical setting. Although the literature review recommended several evidenced-based interventions for fall prevention, it did not identify one specific intervention as superior over the others. Findings suggested that bed positioning, bed and chair alarms, fall risk assessments, gait belts, hourly rounding, and patient education need to be used in conjunction with each other to prevent falls. The policy & procedures and observations of fall prevention interventions were consistent with findings in the literature. Implications for nursing practice, education, and research were provided.