Evidence-Based Practice and Applied Nursing Research: Falls Among Patients (Essay Sample)

Evidence-Based Practice and Applied Nursing Research
Author
Department, University
Course code: Course title
Instructor
Due Date
Evidence-Based Practice and Applied Nursing Research
Clinical Practice Problem
Falls are common occurrences in healthcare facilities, particularly among older patients. According to Morris & O’Riordan (2017), thirty to fifty percent of hospital falls lead to physical injuries and fractures among patients. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2019) also claims that falls in hospitals happen at a rate of three to five per 1000 occupied bed-days, and approximately over 800,000 hospitalized patients fall every year. Increased falls result in patients' prolonged stay in hospitals, hence overcrowding and insufficient care for patients. Falls can also trigger fear, depression, and anxiety among patients. The problem affects patients of all ages and both genders (male and female). According to Shaw et al. (2020), male patients are at a higher risk of dying from a hospital fall. On the other hand, females suffer non-fatal falls. Preventing hospital falls should involve training, education, physical exercise, establishing safer environments to decrease risk. Therefore, a multi-component fall program can be implemented, which will significantly reduce falls.
PICO Components
PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome) is an essential tool in evidence-based practice (EBP). The tool is used to define and respond to problems that happen in a clinical setting. As such, with PICO, the problem would be designated as;
P- Hospital Falls among patients
I -Multi-component fall program (training, physical exercise, education, safer environments)
C- Standard care
O- Reduced Hospital Falls
EBP Question Based on The Clinical Practice Problem
The evidence-based question would be; Does implementing a multi-component fall program in a clinical setting help minimize hospital falls compared to standard care?
Research-Based Article
The research article I selected to answer my EBP question The effects of a multi-component fall prevention intervention on fall prevalence, depression, and balance among nursing home residents. The article was written by Najafi-Ghezeljeh, Tahereh, Fatemeh Ghasemifard, and Mehdi Jafari-Oori. The article