Translating an Evidence Into Practice
Among the older adults aged 60 years and above, falls have been identified as a leading cause of fatal injuries and non-fatal injuries. In the United States, nearly 50% of hospitalized adult patients face the risks of falls and nearly 80% of the patients who fall suffer from fatal or non-fatal injuries. (CDC, 2010). When patients fall, the issue can lead to negative health effects that include longer hospital stays, elevated patient's costs, and longer recovery times. An average hospital stay can increase by more than 12.3 days, and consequently increase the cost of hospitalization by 61%. In essence, elder population face the risks of severe head or leg injuries after a fall, and the issue can ultimately increase the risk of head trauma and hip fractures. (CDC, 2010).
Numerous organizations have employed different strategies to prevent falls. Current practice includes bed alarms, adequate light, and side rail, call lights, and clutter free environment. While these interventions are important to maintain patient safety, however, these practices are not effective in preventing falls of older adult's patients. Moreover, call lights can be effective in preventing falls, however, overuse of call lights to alert nurses for immediate attention may make some nurses not responding instantly to the call.
A hourly rounding has been identified as a current and proactive practice used to prevent falls among hospitalized patients. Since patient satisfaction is an effective key metric that influences reimbursement and hospital rating, a hourly rounding has become an effective tool that healthcare organizations use to improve patient satisfactions.
The objective of this research is to investigate whether an hourly rounding can be used to reduce call light use, falls and pressure ulcers...
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