title: Nursing home staff perception of a falls management intervention.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many nursing home fall injuries are believed to be preventable. Little is known about the fall prevention activities nursing homes are using.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a census of all nursing homes in 6 Wisconsin counties by mailing a needs assessment to administrators and directors of nursing. Later we mailed a report of the results, an information intervention (an annotated list of falls management resources), and a follow-up questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Respondents believed that the most important barriers to better falls management in typical Wisconsin nursing homes were the fall-prone character of the population (80%), followed by the need for staff to communicate changes in a resident's condition better and more quickly (58%). Most felt that the components they needed to improve in their own nursing home were training for new staff (71%) and communicating any immediate care plan changes (65%). Respondents reported getting useful fall prevention information in the last year from in-house physical and occupational therapists (87%) and conferences, workshops, or meetings (82%). They were most interested in receiving new information about how to train their staff to analyze resident fall data and develop prevention plans (76%) and where to find training videos (68%). Forty-four percent reported becoming personally more aware of falls management resources and 31% reported that their nursing home had adopted changes in falls management activities in the last 7 months at least in part as a result of our intervention.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Information dissemination interventions can increase awareness and changes in nursing home falls management activities.
authors.forename: Larry J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Chapman
authors.forename: Astrid C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Newenhouse
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009735:Nursing Homes; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014922:Wisconsin; D000078329:Workforce