A new patient acuity tool and the impact on patient falls
Title
A new patient acuity tool and the impact on patient falls
Creator
Lamberty, Nichole
Description
Lamberty, Nichole
In the United States, approximately 700,000 to 1 million patient falls occur in the hospital setting annually (AHRQ, 2019). Of those hospital falls, about 250,000 results in injuries and 11,000 in death (LeLaurin & Shorr, 2019). Common practice is disregarding individual patient needs and creating patient assignments based on ratios, location of patient rooms or based on previous shift assignments (Eastman & Kernan, 2022). The patient assignments of nurses directly influence their ability to assess, intervene, and evaluate timely and effectively (Swiger et al., 2016). This quality improvement project was completed on a 30-bed medical-surgical and oncology unit in an acute care setting and explored the relationship between the use of a new patient acuity tool and its impact on falls. A patient acuity tool was implemented for three months on the unit and then data related to falls were compared from the previous three months with the old patient acuity tool. An independent samples t-test was conducted to compare the number of falls from the third and fourth quarters of 2023. The results indicated no significant differences in the scores for the old tool (M = 1.01, SD =.09) and the new tool (M = 1.02, SD = .13); t (908.99) = -1.21, p = .23, two-tailed). The magnitude of the differences in the means (mean difference = -.01, 95% CI, [-.02, .01]) indicated a small effect size (eta squared = .001). The results showed an increase in patient falls suggesting the patient acuity tool was not helpful in accounting for individual patient needs and impacting patient falls. Recommendations for further research include education on using the patient acuity tool, consistency with the patient acuity tool, measuring other patient outcomes, patient satisfaction scores and nurse satisfaction scores.
In the United States, approximately 700,000 to 1 million patient falls occur in the hospital setting annually (AHRQ, 2019). Of those hospital falls, about 250,000 results in injuries and 11,000 in death (LeLaurin & Shorr, 2019). Common practice is disregarding individual patient needs and creating patient assignments based on ratios, location of patient rooms or based on previous shift assignments (Eastman & Kernan, 2022). The patient assignments of nurses directly influence their ability to assess, intervene, and evaluate timely and effectively (Swiger et al., 2016). This quality improvement project was completed on a 30-bed medical-surgical and oncology unit in an acute care setting and explored the relationship between the use of a new patient acuity tool and its impact on falls. A patient acuity tool was implemented for three months on the unit and then data related to falls were compared from the previous three months with the old patient acuity tool. An independent samples t-test was conducted to compare the number of falls from the third and fourth quarters of 2023. The results indicated no significant differences in the scores for the old tool (M = 1.01, SD =.09) and the new tool (M = 1.02, SD = .13); t (908.99) = -1.21, p = .23, two-tailed). The magnitude of the differences in the means (mean difference = -.01, 95% CI, [-.02, .01]) indicated a small effect size (eta squared = .001). The results showed an increase in patient falls suggesting the patient acuity tool was not helpful in accounting for individual patient needs and impacting patient falls. Recommendations for further research include education on using the patient acuity tool, consistency with the patient acuity tool, measuring other patient outcomes, patient satisfaction scores and nurse satisfaction scores.
Date
2024
Publisher
Alverno College
Extent
101 pages
Language
English
Format
PDF
Type
Text
DNP Project
Subject
Patients--Safety measures
Outcome assessment (Medical care)
Equitable nursing assignment
Patient acuity tool
Patient outcomes
Rights
These materials may be used by individuals and libraries for personal use, research, teaching (including distribution to classes), or for any fair use as defined by U.S. Copyright Law.
Collection
Citation
Lamberty, Nichole, “A new patient acuity tool and the impact on patient falls,” Alverno College Library Digital Commons, accessed May 15, 2024, https://alverno.omeka.net/items/show/920.