Nrs 490 week 2 Developing An Effective Fall Prevention Program In A Clinical Setting

Developing An Effective Fall Prevention Program In A Clinical Setting Falls are a major factor affecting the quality of care and patient outcomes. Although falls are common among older adults, younger adults and adolescents can also be affected. According to Appeadu & Bordoni (2021), falls are associated with mortality, morbidity as well as reduced functionality. This paper discusses how to develop an effective program that will reduce incidents of patients falling in a clinical setting. The fall prevention program will be developed and applied within a clinical environment. When falls occur at a healthcare organization, they cause adverse effects not just to the affected patients but to the healthcare organization where it occurred. Therefore, the best place to implement this program is within healthcare organizations to ensure that patients remain safe (LeLaurin & Shorr, 2019). All falls are harmful including those that do not cause injuries. A fall even when it does not lead to serious injury can affect the confidence of the patient making them less mobile because they are afraid of falling again. Morris & O'Riordan (2017) note that most hospital fall falls are not accidents and that incidences of falls can be reduced through a “coordinated multidisciplinary clinical team approach”. In most cases, falls especially, for older adults can be caused by multiple factors such as behavioral factors, environmental factors, and biological factors. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] (2021), older adults, particularly, those who experience longer hospital stays are at higher risk of falling after being discharged from the hospital which may cause readmissions or poor functional outcomes. This is because they have less moved du