Date of Doctor of Nursing Practice Project Completion
Summer 8-8-2025
Faculty Advisor
Linda Roussel
Abstract
Purpose: The goal of this quality improvement project was to decrease falls in inpatient psychiatric units by at least 5% within six months, utilizing a multifaceted approach while increasing nurses' ability to identify patients at risk for falls. This project incorporated fall risk assessment, staff education, visual identifiers, and debriefings. Nurse confidence was measured post-intervention using a Likert scale survey.
Background: Psychiatric fall rates range from 13 to 25 per 1,000 hospital days, compared to 3 to 4 in general hospitals. These rates highlight the importance of tailored interventions. This project was completed in an inpatient psychiatric facility in Southeastern Texas.
Methodology: The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA), Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve (DMAIC) model, and Donabedian Model for Quality Care guided this project through staff education, visual identifiers, audits, debriefs, and a tailored fall risk assessment. Outcomes measured included protocol adherence, fall incidence, and nurses' confidence using post-intervention Likert survey.
Results: Patient falls decreased by 33.3% across two combined units, surpassing the 5% goal. Staff adherence rose from 85% to 100 % post-intervention surveys showed increased nurse confidence in identifying fall-risk patients (average score: 4.1/5).
Implications: This project demonstrated that strategies tailored to psychiatric patients can reduce falls and strengthen staff confidence. Expansion to additional psychiatric facilities and continued evaluation are recommended. Limitations include single-site implementation and varying levels of staff engagement, which may affect generalizability.
Keywords
Key Words: fall, psychiatric, prevention, nurse
Recommended Citation
shanika king, "Implementing A Multi-Faceted Approach to Reduce Falls And Enhance Safety In Psychiatric Patients While Improving Nurses Perception While Improving Nurses Perception Of Fall Risk Identification" (2025). Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract. 109.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/dnp_abstract/109