Essay on Evidence-Based Practice To Prevent In-Hospital Falls

In-hospital fall is one of the clinical practice problem facing a considerable number of healthcare facilities. The problem usually results in a prolonged stay in the healthcare facility, which has detrimental effects on the patient. The increased rates of in-hospital falls within the healthcare facility are indicative of the deteriorating quality of care. The issue can be addressed through various measures that are aimed at reducing the prevalence of the issue. The main aim of this paper is to critically review some articles on evidence-based practice that can reduce the incidence of increased in-hospital falls. The paper will then offer some recommendations based on the information presented in the article.

Evidence Synthesis on Proposed Nursing Intervention

The increased in-hospital falls can be addressed through the implementation of multisystem physical exercises among the hospitalized patients. Chittrakul et al. (2020) assert that the implementation of physical excises is key in ensuring a reduction of the number of falls within the healthcare facility. The study conducted by Chittrakul et al. (2020) mainly aimed to investigate the impact of implementing multisystem physical exercises among 72 elderly patients who were admitted to various healthcare facilities. Some of the individuals were engaged in the exercises. At the same time, the rest were left to serve as the control group. The major findings were that the implementation of physical exercises positively correlates with the reduction in the number of in-hospital falls within the healthcare facility.

Mansson et al. (2020) also support the findings of Chittrakul et al. (2020) through a quality improvement nursing journal published whereby they found out that the implementation of the multisystem physical exercises had a positive role in strengthening the supporting skeletal muscles with the effect being a decreased incidences of falls among the individuals. The multisystem physical exercises that are effective engage more skeletal muscles in the body and result in an increased support level of the patient. Most of the patients who engage in those exercises usually gain enough strength to allow them to offer self-support when standing up. Further, the authors focus on some other important aspects of implementing the exercise among the post-surgical patients, highlighting that it is key in preventing the development of deep venous thrombosis and thus decreasing the prevalence of pulmonary embolism among post-surgical patients. The engagement in the exercise usually services as a way of mobilization among those patients. It thus eliminates the risk of developing deep vein thrombosis, a common occurrence among most post-surgical patients.

Recommendations Based On Information From The Article

One of the major recommendations based on the evidence collected from the selected article is that the hospitalized patients should continually be engaged in multisystem physical exercise through the health of trained personnel to ensure that their skeletal muscles are strong enough to offer the required support. The nurse should also be educated on multisystem physical exercise in preventing in-hospital falls within the healthcare facilities. The training sessions should be done every week since the appreciation of the positive effect is likely to ensure that the nurse is more willing to participate In the process. The patients should as well be educated by any nurses on how to prevent the in-hospital falls. They can achieve that through the creation of some content videos to educate the patient on the issue.

Thus, the in-hospital falls have become a major clinical practice among most health care facilities that need a prompt intervention due to their negative impact on the patient and the healthcare facility at large. The implementation of multisystem physical exercise is one of the effective measures that can be implemented to address the issue. It enhances the patient’s stability by increasing the strength of the skeletal muscles allowing the patient to support himself/herself better. The exercises should be coupled with proper health education to the patient.

References

Chittrakul, J., Siviroj, P., Sungkarat, S., & Sapbamrer, R. (2020). Multi-system physical exercise intervention for fall prevention and quality of life in pre-frail older adults: a randomized controlled trial. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(9), 3102. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/9/3102

Mansson, L., Lundin-Olsson, L., Skelton, D. A., Janols, R., Lindgren, H., Rosendahl, E., & Sandlund, M. (2020). Older adults’ preferences for, adherence to, and experiences of two self-management falls prevention home exercise programs: a comparison between a digital program and a paper booklet. BMC geriatrics, 20(1), 1-15. https://bmcgeriatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12877-020-01592-x