The Development of a Fall Prevention Model for Elderly Patients at a Provincial Administrative Organization Hospital

Abstract

This research and development study aimed to 1) document fall prevention models for elderly patients, 2) develop a fall prevention model for elderly patients in a provincial administrative organization hospital, and 3) evaluate the implementation of such a model. The empirical evidence related to fall prevention models for elderly patients was systematically searched from the international databases, namely Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI), Cochrane Library, and Thai-Journal Citation Index (TCI) database (groups 1 and 2). The sample was 10 registered nurses, selected by purposive sampling technique. The research tools consisted of 1) a newly developed fall prevention model for elderly patients, 2) an evidence-based quality assessment form, 3) a form for evaluating the appropriateness of the developed model, and 4) a form for evaluating the developed model implementation at the Provincial Administrative Organization Hospital. The content validity index score of the research tool was 1.0. Data were synthesized and analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. There were 4 development phases: Phase I to find empirical evidence related to fall prevention models for elderly patients, Phase II to develop a fall prevention model for elderly patients, Phase III to evaluate the suitability of the fall prevention model for elderly patients, and Phase IV to evaluate the implementation of the developed model in the hospital. The research findings were as follows. Twenty-seven (27) empirical evidence samples from systematic searching and 19 articles from the international databases were evaluated as having a high level of research quality. The rest was 8 articles from the Thai Journal Citation Index (TCI) database.

The developed fall prevention model was evaluated as appropriate at a high level. It consists of 4 steps: 1) fall risk assessment, 2) nursing care plan for fall prevention, 3) nursing implementation for fall prevention, and 4) nursing evaluation for fall prevention.

Implementing the developed model was evaluated as appropriate in 4 aspects: 1) the least time-consuming, 2) easiest to understand, 3) the most convenient, and 4) clear and comprehensive implementation steps. Providing information on preventing falls and awareness of elder patients’ safety is important.