Paper Example on Fall Risk Management

Introduction

Today, most of the hospitals are faced with various medical risks that place the life of the patients in danger. It involves various aspects, but the paper majorly focuses on falls among the patients within the hospitals (Reznik, 2013). Ideally, it is evident that falls among the patients are becoming prevalent such that they are ranked as the second accidental cause of the deaths across the world. These scenarios cause an adverse effect to the patient where common falls may lead to fractures and other damages that may place the life of the patient in danger and in some cases; it may result to death.

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It is also worth noting that the frequent falls also affect the operational efficiency of the nurses since it increases their workload. In the event of a fall, the nurses are bound to spend more time attending to these patients since the fall may harm their health conditions requiring more attention. Following the increased cases of falls among the hospitalized patients, the hospital management needs to devise strategies that can help to overcome the underlying challenge. It does not only assist in enhancing the health safety of the patients but also helps in improving the operational efficiency of the medical facilities since it is a technique of improving the quality of the healthcare delivery system. Therefore, the paper aims at discussing the challenge of patient falls in hospitals and the possible solutions that can help to handle this challenge.

Background of the Problem

Currently, patients are at a higher risk of falling during their stay within the hospital. It may occur due to various reasons depending on the medical condition of the patient therein. Nevertheless, in most cases, the falls may be as a result of the general confusion in the hospital environment especially now that it may be a new and unfamiliar environment. In other cases, the diseases that the patient is suffering and the medications may create dizziness and confusion which increases the chances of falling. The medical procedures can also make the patient feel weak and unsteady increasing the likelihood of falling as well. Reznik, (2013), outlines that the United States hospitals report approximately one million cases of patient falls annually. As the number of falls increases, there is a need for more medical services utilization since it places the patients' health conditions in danger. Besides, as discussed earlier, in the event of fall, the patient may encounter internal bleeding, lacerations, or fractures. As a way to enhance the safety of the patients within the medical facilities, it is essential that the hospitals adopt effective strategies that can aid in mitigating the increased case of patient falls therein.

Causes of Patient Falls in Hospitals

The causes can be categorized into three groups including the anticipated physiological factors, the unanticipated physiological factors, and accidental factors. Most of the cases fall under the anticipated physiological factors. It refers to the case where the risk of the patient falling can be determined in advance. The risk factors that determine the likelihood of falling include adverse metal conditions, abnormal walking postures, high-risk medications, and the increased frequency in seeking toileting needs (Twibell, Siela, Sproat & Coers, 2015). It can also be associated with age where the elderly are more likely to fall as compared the other younger patients. However, the likelihood of falling should not be merely based on age as it has been in most of the facilities. The scenarios under the unanticipated physiological factors are usually lower.

Unlike the anticipated physiological factors, this category involves the cases where the likelihood of the patient falling is limited. It includes scenarios such as the occurrence of a stroke, seizure, or a syncope episode that places the patient at risk of falling.

Lastly, the accidental hazards involve the case where the risk of the patients falling is associated with the environmental hazards therein. It is connected to the physical design of the hospitals including aspect such as slippery and wet floors which increases the likelihood of falling.

Recommended Solutions to the Problem

There exists a wide range of strategies that can help to overcome the emerging issue of patient falls within the hospital premises. It is necessitated by scrutinizing the possible causes of the problem as a way to identify the specific areas that need improvement. For instance, in solving the anticipated physiological factors, it requires close supervision. In a case where the nurses identify that the patients are at higher risk of falling, they ought to administer the culture of supervision as a way to help the patients in cases where they may tend to fall. Moreover, if such patients are left with no help, then, they will always fall as it has been anticipated (Cruz, Carvalho & Lopes, 2016).

Also, under the unanticipated physiological factors, the hospital management needs to administer a risks assessment programs as a solution to the challenge. It involves conducting a medical assessment on the patients to determine their chances of experiencing the instances of stroke, seizure, or a syncope episode. Since these cases are unanticipated, a medical assessment can help to determine if the patients have the likelihood to experience these factors. After the assessment, the nurses can integrate the appropriate procedures depending on the medical condition of the patient (Lee, Jin, Piao & Lee, 2016). In this cases, it means that if the assessment results show that the patients are at risk of experiencing the adverse conditions mentioned above, then, they should establish prevention mechanisms such as supervision.

Consequently, the falls caused by accidental factors can be reduced by modifying the design of the hospital facilities such that they prevent the problem from recurring. As mentioned above, the facility outlook that increases the chances of patient falls include wet and slippery floors. Following these factors, the hospital management can ensure that it maintains dry floors to minimize the cases of falling as a result of wet floors. Similarly, the cases can be reduced by implementing the reducing tripping hazards programs (Reznik, 2013). It can be achieved through various activities such as ensuring that the floor surface is suitable for patients by ensuring that it is kept in good condition. It is also essential to avoid contamination of the floors by eliminating any obstacles that may increase the likelihood of falling. It includes cleaning any greasy substance on the floor immediately and removing any obstacles such as papers wrapping and any other unnecessary objects. It can also be done by keeping all the cable or cords away for the floor and ensuring that all the cabinet drawers are closed.

Another aspect appropriate for solving the problem is it to place signs that notify the patients that the floor is either wet or slippery. However, in cases of critically ill patients, the nurses should stop them from accessing the wet floor during cleaning. It is also important to administer sufficient lighting on the pathways. In this case, any faulty lighting bulbs should be replaced immediately (Stevens, Smith, Parker, Jiang & Floyd, 2017). Another element is making sure that the patients have suitable footwear that minimizes the risk of falling. More importantly, the hospital management should also enhance the housekeeping to ensure that all the aspects are established in a manner that reduces the risks.

The General Solutions

Other the risk management solutions based on the identified causes, other general preventive guidelines can be relevant in most of the hospital facilities. For instance, it is essential to raise awareness on the need to administer preventive steps among the hospital staff. In most cases, the falls occur as a result of the communication breakdown where the nurses are less concerned with the significance of following safety procedures. When the users lack the necessary information to prevent falls among the patients, then, they will be less helpful in solving the problem at hand (Stevens, Smith, Parker, Jiang & Floyd, 2017). In this case, the hospital should ensure that the nurses have the appropriate information and the required equipment necessary in preventing the falls. It may also involve integrating the modem technological equipment such as bed alarms since some of the patients falls include situations where the patients fall on the bedside.

It is also vital to establish a training program that not only equips the medical practitioners with the necessary information required to prevent patient fall effectively but also helps to educate the patients on the basic procedures that can help to avoid falling. Therefore, instated of punishing the medical staff in a case where the patient falls, they management should utilize such scenario as an opportunity for training. In this case, they work together as a team to analyze the situation and generate the most appropriate strategy to handle such problems. More importantly, the nurses need to reassess the patients who tend to fall more often as a way to identify any possible changes in the medical conditions (Lee, Jin, Piao & Lee, 2016).

References

Cruz, S., Carvalho, L., & Lopes, E. (2016). Improving the evaluation of risk of fall through clinical supervision: An evidence. Procedia - Social And Behavioral Sciences, 217, 382-388. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.02.108

Lee, J. Y., Jin, Y., Piao, J., & Lee, S. (2016). Development and evaluation of an automated fall risk assessment system. International Journal For Quality In Health Care, 28(2), 175-182. doi: 10.1093/intqhc/mzv122

Reznik, D. (2013). Fall prevention. AJN, American Journal Of Nursing, 113(7), 12. doi: 10.1097/01.naj.0000431897.51118.69

Stevens, J. A., Smith, M. L., Parker, E. M., Jiang, L., & Floyd, F. D. (2017). Implementing a clinically based fall prevention program. American Journal Of Lifestyle Medicine, 155982761771608. doi: 10.1177/1559827617716085

Twibell, R. S., Siela, D., Sproat, T., & Coers, G. (2015). Perceptions related to falls and fall prevention among hospitalized adults. American Journal Of Critical Care, 24(5), e78-e85. doi: 10.4037/ajcc2015375