RESPONSE: (QI)

Response: (QI)

Meghan

Megan opted to focus on error rates in falls prevention in healthcare facilities, nursing homes, and hospitals. Apart from falls being caused by errors, it is worthwhile noting that falls can also be caused by other factors which are inclusive of, but they are not limited to; certain medications, hospital environment, and patient characteristics (Stephenson et al, 2016). As Megan points out, falls can lead to increased costs in hospitals. Other costs associated with falls, as Stephenson et al (2016) point out, are injuries resulting in disability or death, functional impairment or chronic pain. There are various ways through which falls can be prevented in hospitals. Apart from the fall prevention strategies highlighted by Megan, falls can also be prevented via patient education (Heng et al., 2020).

Nicole

In the second post, Nicole opted to focus on error rates that are related to nursing staff retention and safe nurse/patient ratios. According to Dewanto and Wardhani (2018), a nursing turnover rate that happens to be out of control could seriously impact nursing practice. Apart from increasing financial costs as highlighted by Nicole, increased rates of nursing turnover is associated with multiple negative organizational consequences. For instance, nursing turnover can lead to loss of trained and experienced nurses which may lead to difficulties in setting optimal schedules (Dewanto and Wardhani, 2018). Nicole indicates that nursing turnover rates can be reduced through reports, whereby adverse events are reported and action taken. Apart from self-reports, nursing turnover rates can also be reduced through empowerment, which effectively helps in the further enhancement of nurse autonomy eventually aiding in nurse retention efforts (Haddad et al, 2-22).

References

Dewanto, A. & Wardhani, V. (2018). Nurse turnover and perceived causes and consequences: a preliminary study at private hospitals in Indonesia. BMC Nurs, 17(52). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-018-0317-8

Haddad, L. M., Annamaraju, P. & Toney-Butler, T.J. (2022). Nursing Shortage. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493175/

Heng, H., Jazayeri, D., Shaw, L., Kiegaldie, D., Hill, A-M. & Morris, M. E. (2020). Hospital Falls Prevention with Patient Education: A Scoping Review. BMC Geneatrics, 20(140). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-020-01515-w

Stephenson, M., Mcarthur, A., Giles, K., Lockwood, C., Aromataris, E. & Pearson, A. (2016). Prevention of falls in acute hospital settings: a multi-site audit and best practice implementation project. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 28 (1), 9298. https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzv113