Executive Summary: Quality Improvement Initiative Personalized Interdisciplinary Fall Prevention Plan and Fall Rates at an Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospital

Despite ongoing fall prevention strategies, falls continue to be a concern across healthcare organizations. There has been an identified increase in the fall rate at an inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) in the southeastern United States. An interprofessional and collaborative approach to fall prevention has been found to lead to a decrease in falls with injury and an increase in the culture of safety. This doctor of nursing practice (DNP) project involved an evaluation of a quality improvement (QI) initiative of a personalized interdisciplinary fall prevention plan at a rehabilitation hospital located in the southeastern region of the United States. The purpose of this DNP project was to evaluate the impact of the 3-month QI initiative on a fall prevention program. The practice-focused question centered on whether an interdisciplinary fall prevention plan would have any impact on the fall rate at an IRF. The QI implementation included the evaluation of preimplementation data and a 3-month evaluation of data postimplementation of the fall prevention program. Unfortunately, there was an increase in the fall rate postimplementation but there was an increase in compliance with the post-fall huddle and patient and family education documentation, which shows compliance with the fall prevention plan and increased patient engagement. Future recommendations are to include frontline clinicians in developing the QI initiative and a focus on retention strategies to decrease department turnover to ensure consistent fall champions and staff to empower and sustain the QI initiative. Increased culture of safety and patient engagement promote health equity and positive social change.