A Replication Study of Fall TIPS (Tailoring Interventions for Patient Safety): A Patient-Centered Fall Prevention Toolkit.

LEGAL compliance; ACCIDENTAL falls; INTERVIEWING; CONTINUING education of nurses; PATIENT education; PATIENT safety; POSTERS; PROFESSIONS; REPLICATION (Experimental design); RISK assessment; STATISTICAL sampling; SURVEYS; USER-centered system design; PRE-tests & post-tests; CONTINUING education units; PATIENT-centered care; HEALTH literacy; INDIVIDUALIZED medicine

Generalized standard interventions based on level of risk are current practices for fall prevention, but not individualized. Dykes and colleagues (2017) developed and tested a patient-centered, individualized approach to fall prevention using an 11 x 17-inch wall poster to engage patients/families in fall prevention at the bedside. Aim Replicate the study by Dykes and coauthors (2017) on a medical telemetry unit, exploring adoption of a patient-centered fall prevention tool and its impact on patient knowledge of fall risk factors and interventions, fall rates, and injury rates. Method A pre- and post-intervention design was used to compare patients' perceived knowledge and actual fall rates before and after implementating the tool and processes. Thirty patients were interviewed before the study and at 1-, 3-, and 6-month time points during implementation (N=120). Number and rates of falls per 1,000 patient days were calculated. Audits were completed randomly to monitor adherence to the process. Results Patients were more knowledgeable about falls at months 1, 3, and 6 compared to pre-intervention (p=0.001-0.05). Fall rates fluctuated over the 6-month study, with overall reduction from 3.3% (pre-) to 1.9% (post-). Staff was 85% adherent with use of the laminated poster, with adherence increasing over time. Limitations and Implications Findings are limited to one hospital and one medical telemetry unit. Results support the potential for a best practice change. Plans are to disseminate this new process to other patient units. Conclusion Replication in patient units outside the medical telemetry arena is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]