Use of Fall Risk Scale - Research Proposal Example

Research Proposal, Nursing A fall risk scale is one of the tools that nurses, and other healthcare providers use in order to identify patients who have a high danger of falling, notably when the patients are to be subjected to an acute hospital stay. Basing their opinions on the score that the patients attain, nurses are typically required to decide on whether to provide them with basic nursing care practices or to implement standard interventions, which help in preventing the patients from falling. In situations where the patients manage a score that is much higher than the expected range, then nurses and healthcare providers at large are required to implement high-risk fall intervention strategies. In an ideal world, when patients realize a high score on the fall risk scale and nurses fail to put up prevention strategies, then the patients frequently end up falling. On the other hand, the inhibition tactics habitually come in handy in averting the falling of the patients whenever nurses employ them. This research proposal aims to provide a universal outline on how to carry out a survey to determine whether the scores managed by patients on a fall risk scale is a pointer to whether they will fall or not. It primarily covers the complete research procedure, including the research design, the roles of the researchers and the participants, as well as the methods of data collection and those of data analysis. Table of Contents Abstract 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Research Question 4 Literature Review 4 Research Design 6 Conclusion 8 References 9 Introduction In as much as, there are several inherent reasons such as previous history of falling and chronic illnesses that may lead to a patient falling, a myriad of extrinsic factors can similarly be to blame. This includes the failure of the patient to call for help, the event that the patient is on high-risk treatment, as well as late reaction from the nurse or any other healthcare provider on sight. Cases of patient falling can similarly be brought about by inadequate assessment procedures, particularly the failure of a nurse to go with the scores from the fall risk scale. As mentioned in the abstract, those patients who have over time been subjected to high-risk fall prevention plans, have always avoided falling. This research proposal employs an inclusive research process, to establish that the precise score of a fall risk scale pinpoints patients who are in danger of falling in the course of acute hospital stays. Research Question This research proposal aims to make available more insight on the concern as to whether the specific score that the patient attains in the fall risk scale, can be an element in determining whether he or she can be a victim of falling, an event which is extremely dangerous depending on the extent of the fall. This is because in most situations whenever the patients are unable to rise, and no satisfactory assessment is carried out after the fall, the injury may even lead to loss of patient life. Literature Review According to (Aranda-Gallardo et al., 2013), events of patient falling often prove costly not only for hospital managements and those who are tasked with paying the hospital bills, but for economies as well. (Aranda-Gallardo et al., 2013) drives this point home by analyzing the medical costs within the United States in the year 2000 where $0.2 billion was used to cater for fatal falls, while $19 billion was used for non-fatal patient falls. Their estimation is that this cost will skyrocket to about $32.4 billion by the year 2020. This is based on the fact that in 2000, the rate of patients falling from hospital beds stood at 1.4 per bed annually, and 1.6 per bed in long-term facilities, a value that has continuously been rising (Aranda-Gallardo et al., 2013). Therefore hold the opinion that it is quite imperative for all healthcare providers to make sense out of the available mechanisms for preventing and protecting patient falls, including the fall risk scale as this would significantly reduce clinical costs that come from patient falls. In like manner, Aranda-Gallardo et.al (2013) attest that this would make the process of healthcare delivery satisfactory for the patients and interesting to the providers as the incidence will reduce significantly. Dykes et.al (2010) argues that those patients who normally manage a low score of approximately 0 to 24 for the Morse Fall Scale require the basic nursing care practices. On the other hand, those who fail to receive such care ordinarily end up falling, an event that is often dangerous for them. The argument is further enhanced by the fact that those who attain a higher score, of approximately above 51 for the Morse Fall Scale are habitually highly susceptible to falling. For that reason, they should often be subjected to high-risk fall inhibition approaches. Such strategies according to (Dykes et.al, 2010) include correctly orientating the patients to their new environment, with the aim of acquainting them with the place. It is also imperative to position the call bells within reach as this will enable the patients call for aid whenever essential. The nurses and healthcare practitioners should make an attempt of keeping the floors and all the walkways dry and free of any spillage. According to (Dykes et.al, 2011) the management of the hospital should make an attempt of constructing beds at their lowest positions. They should similarly try to ensure those night lights are turned on and that all the basic items are within reach for the patients. Over and above, they should feel obliged to reassess the patient continuously just to see how they are faring. Polit et.al (2012), shares these ideologies and asserts that it is essential not only for nurses, but for all healthcare providers, every individual tasked with taking care of patients on a long-term basis, as well as the management of hospitals. As some of the strategies for preventing falls demand that policies have to be put in place. Polit et.al (2012) presumes true the fact that in as much as intrinsic reasons can come to play, it is imperative for healthcare providers to put the fall risk scale into use. It helps in ascertaining that the blame is not laid on them just in case the patient may be unlucky enough to fall. In an attempt to ensure that each health care provider is made aware that a given patient is at a higher risk of falling, it is imperative to position such clients in rooms that are within quick reach for the nurses. Similarly, they can put up a mark, for easier notification, this is according to (Polit et.al, 2012) Research Design Based on the literature review discussed above, the hypothesis of this research therefore would be that for any incidence of acute hospital stay, nurses and healthcare providers should take keen note of the score that patients attain from the fall score scale for this would be a pointer as to whether the patient is susceptible (Polit et al, 2012). On the same note, it would provide them with a point from which to begin providing the treatment. In selecting participants for this research, it is imperative to consider nurses, physical therapists, clinical educators, administrative staff, as well as any other party that usually takes part in the process of taking care of patients. The researcher and his team should be tasked with the responsibility of bringing the participants up to speed the research, as well as the need to be as honest as possible. This is because honesty would be a contributing factor towards making the research credible. The validity of questionnaires has over time been discredited due to the fact that it only helps the researcher obtain partial material, and that it is entirely difficult to make sense out of various aspects of the response such as change in emotions, spirits and behavior. However, it should be employed as the system of data collection. This is majorly because it is quite concrete and can enable the researchers collect a considerable amount of information from a large group of people within short duration. Similarly, questionnaires are advantageous as both researchers, and their team members can carry out the exercise and that information collected through surveys can be easily evaluated. In addition to that, data from questionnaires can easily be compared and contrasted, and new theories can easily be created. The research procedure should be such that once the research team has identified the participants, and then they should administer the questionnaires. As is always the case with all other surveys, the questionnaires should be generated in such a way that they do not disclose the identity of the participants. The first section should largely aim at establishing the age bracket, gender as well as the extent to which they interact with the patients. The second section should aim at testing their knowledge on any fall risk scale, such as the Morse fall scale. The final section should aim at determining the manner in which the patient manages from a fall risk scale (Polit et al., 2012). Similarly, it should aim at testing some of the mechanisms and strategies that the party can employ, depending on the score that the patient attains to prevent him or her from falling. The questionnaire can be administered online as this would ensure that anonymity of the participant. Similarly, it can be administered to the patients, and considerable time given to them to respond to all the concerns raised. The participants should then post the questionnaire once they have filled it in. Once the research team has received all the questionnaires, it should analyze the data. This would help them come up with theories that either concur or differ with the research hypothesis. Conclusion In case this research proposal is followed as discussed in the section above, the information gathered from the data should point to the fact that indeed the score that a patient manages on a fall risk scale, should help the healthcare provider in identifying those who are susceptible to falling, and need high-risk prevention care from those who do not. Over and above, I find the proposal intriguing, as several patients have been victims of the fall, yet it can easily be avoided by adopting the correct mechanisms. Focusing on the future, the basis of this research will help in delivering adequate and satisfactory services to patients and at the same time encourage my colleagues to do the same, for human medicine demands that our colleagues can make us better. References Aranda-Gallardo, M., Morales-Asencio, J. M., Canca-Sanchez, J. C., Barrero-Sojo, S., Perez- Jimenez, C., Morales-Fernandez, A, Mora-Banderas, A. M. (2013). Instruments for assessing the risk of falls in acute hospitalized patients: A systematic review and meta- analysis. BMC Health Services Research, 13, 122 137 Cashin, R.P., & Yang, M. (2011). Medications prescribed and occurrence of falls in general medicine inpatients. The Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, 64(5), 321-326 Caldevilla, M.N., Costa, M.A., Teles, P., & Ferreira, P.M. (2012) Evaluation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Hendrich II Fall Risk Model to Portuguese Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences Dykes, P. C., Carroll, D. L., Hurley, A., Lipsitz, S., Benoit, A., Chang, F., Middleton, B. (2010). Fall prevention in acute care hospitals. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 304(17), 1912 1918. doi: 10.1001/jama.2010.1567  Gangavati, A., Hajjar, I., Quach, L., Jones, R.N., Kiely, D.K., Gagnon, P., & Lipsitz, L.A. (2011). Hypertension, orthostatic hypotension, and the risk of falls in a community dwelling elderly population: The maintenance of balance, independent living, intellect, and zest in the elderly of Boston study. JAGS, 59(3), 383-389. Ivziku, D, Matarese, M., & Pedone, C. (2011). Predictive validity of the Hendrich Fall Risk Model II in an acute geriatric unit. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 48(4), 468- 474 Polit, D. F. & Beck, C. T. (2012). Nursing research: Generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice (9th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Roig, M., Eng, J.J., MacIntyre, D.L., Road, J.D., FitzGerald, J.M., Burns, J., & Reid, W.D. (2011). Falls in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: An observational cohort study. Respiratory Medicine, 105(3), 461-469. Sachpekidis, V., Vogiatzis, I., Dadous, G., Kanonidis, I., Papadopoulos, C., & Sakadamis, G. (2009). Carotid sinus hypersensitivity is common in patients presenting with hip fracture and unexplained falls. Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology, 32(9), 1184-1190. Thomson, R. E., & Emery, W. J. (2014). Data analysis methods in physical oceanography. Read More