Evaluation Plan: Reduction of Falls Among Elderly Patients - Essay Example

"Evaluation Plan: Reduction of Falls Among Elderly Patients" is a marvelous example of a paper on the health system.
A good evaluation plan ensures that the proposed change is effective and meets the intended objectives. The proposed plan is a reduction of falls among elderly patients through adequate staffing, patient and family education, identification of risk factors, and a multidisciplinary approach. This particular evaluation plan ensures that all the tenets entailed in the proposed solution are implemented and their effectiveness assessed and improved if there need be.  The methods of the evaluation plan include an assessment of the situation before and after the implementation, improvement of areas with a deficit, health workers survey, patient and family survey, and the quality of health care delivery. The variables include staff perceptions and attitudes, patient perception and attitude, and the rate of patient turnover. The tools to be used in the evaluation of the project participants include surveys, questionnaires, PowerPoint slides, and teaching materials. The tools for the evaluation of the project’s outcomes include surveys, questionnaires, and feedback on the online platform. Therefore, this paper will discuss the evaluation plan of the proposed solution by describing the methods to be used, variables to assess project outcomes, tools to educate project participants, and assessment tools to evaluate project outcomes.

To begin with, the methods of evaluating the proposed plan include assessment of the situation before and after implementation of the change project, improvement of areas with a deficit, health workers survey, patient and family survey, and the quality of care delivery compared to before and after the introduction of the proposed change. It is expected that the proposed change will have a positive impact, therefore, assessment of the prevalence and incidence of falls will be done before the change project is implemented then compared to the incidence and prevalence of patient falls after the implementation of the proposed change. After the effectiveness or non-effectiveness of the proposed change has been identified, areas that need improvement will then be adjusted appropriately. Furthermore, a health worker survey will be conducted to assess the effectiveness of the proposed change from the health workers' perspective. Additionally, patient and family surveys will be conducted to assess the effectiveness of the change project from the patient’s and the patient’s family perspective. Finally, the quality of care will be assessed and a comparison made before and after the introduction of the change project.

Secondly, the variables of the proposed change project outcomes include staff perceptions and attitudes, patient perception and attitude, and the rate of patient turnover. Although staff perceptions are subjective, a number of staff opinions will be surveyed and an average determined to get a general perception.  This applies to staff attitude as well. Patient’s perception and attitude is also a subjective variable. Moreover, the patient’s family perceptions and attitudes are subjective; however, an average from a sampled cohort can be determined. Importantly, the rate of patient turnover is an important variable in assessing the outcomes of the proposed change.  Falls in hospital facilities and long-term care facilities are resulting in longer hospital stays. Therefore, there is reduced patient turnover. In order to determine whether the proposed change is effective, the rate of patient turnover is of paramount significance. The higher the rate of patient turnover, the more effective the outcomes of the proposed change project.

Thirdly, the tools to be used in educating the project participants include surveys, questionnaires, PowerPoint slides, and teaching materials. Evaluation of the proposed solution includes interaction with the caregivers and the recipients of care. Part of the proposed solution entails a multidisciplinary approach and patient and family education.  The multidisciplinary approach involves discussing among the health care workers in Continuous Medical Education (CME) sessions and PowerPoint presentations. The tools necessary to execute participation include the use of PowerPoint slides during the presentation as well as teaching aids. The teaching aids will include visual cards, pictorial presentations, and whiteboards for demonstration. The other participants in the change project are the patients and their family members who add up as caregivers. The teaching materials that will be used to teach the patient and family members include charts, fliers, brochures that are well labeled, and simply explained. In addition, one-on-one sessions with the patient and family members in educating them on fall prevention methods are an effective tool in teaching. Sales, Smith, Curran, and Kochevar (2012), observe that the implementation strategy and implementation framework are significant in developing teaching tools in a change project.

Lastly, the tools for the evaluation of the project’s outcomes include surveys, questionnaires, and feedback on the online platform. Surveys will be conducted for healthcare workers, patients, and their families.  A random survey assessment will be done evaluating the satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the proposed change. The response will be recorded and analyzed. Moreover, deficits and areas that would need improvement will be assessed. Additionally, questionnaires will be distributed to health workers, patients, and their families. The questionnaires will assess the satisfaction and dissatisfaction of the proposed change identify areas of improvement and suggest ways of improvement. Besides, a website will be created detailing the proposed change project. Other social media platforms and web pages will be created where patients, families, and other indirect recipients of care will give their feedback concerning the proposed change. Formative evaluation improves the quality of care and enables the implementation of research findings (Stetler, et al., 2011). In this manner, the tools will provide a good method of evaluating the project’s outcomes.

In summary, an evaluation plan is an essential tool in the assessment of the project. It identifies the effectiveness of a change project as well as suggesting improvements in areas showing a deficit. The evaluation plan for this change project includes the methods of evaluation of the effectiveness of the project’s outcome, variables to be assessed, tools necessary for educating project participants, and assessment tools for evaluating the project’s outcomes. King, Glasgow, and Castillo (2010) observe that a framework that provides a practical means of evaluating a health intervention is essential in changing behavior.