Evidence-based management practice: reducing falls in hospital.
This paper reports on a falls prevention and management program at one regional Western Australian hospital. The report focuses on the processes and outcomes of a quality management initiative to reduce falls in hospital to illustrate the nexus between research and quality improvement in clinical practice. The Falls Prevention program was based on statistical evidence of the level of risk in the hospital and development of an evidence-based multidimensional, multidisciplinary program to reduce the risks of falling and the number of falling events. Evaluative data demonstrate the effectiveness of the program in terms of a substantial reduction in falls. The program illustrates the value of evidence-based practice, particularly in relation to evidence-based management practice. It supports the merits of creating an organisational climate where all clinicians are encouraged to use research data to plan strategies for quality improvement and risk management and, in the process, advance clinical nursing knowledge development.
Peel Health Campus, Mandurah, Western Australia.
Catherine
C
McKinley
Ann
A
Fletcher
Ann
A
Biggins
Anne
A
McMurray
Sue
S
Birtwhistle
Leonie
L
Gardiner
Sharron
S
Lampshire
Norah
N
Noake
Judith
J
Lockhart
D000056:Accident Prevention; D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019985:Benchmarking; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D009718:Nurse Administrators / Q000458:organization & administration; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015279:Organizational Culture; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D010355:Patient Identification Systems; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014904:Western Australia / Q000453:epidemiology