Evaluation Plan and Disseminating Evidence
Introduction
The process of evaluating a program is essential before initiating any given project. Most falls among the elderly occur in the nursing homes, creating a need for the development of a plan to reduce these falls rates. The number of deaths and injuries resulting from falls among the elderly is increasing at an alarming rate creating. The rates of falls are higher for patients in the nursing homes compared to the community residents. Some of the factors that have facilitated the increase in falls numbers among the elderly in nursing homes are poor conditions of the hospitals, increase the number of patients, as well as the insufficient number of nurses to take care of the increasing patient population. This paper aims at evaluating the falls reduction plans among the elderly patients in nursing homes.
The program involves an increase in the number of nurses, improving the nursing home conditions, and improving the surveillance method. By increasing the number of nurses, the hospital shall reduce the patient to nurse ratio; therefore, each nurse shall have few patients who they can easily oversee (Bischoff-Ferrari et al., 2015). When patients are given adequate care, they feel supported therefore the rate of falls shall significantly reduce. Furthermore, each patient shall take the prescribed medication, and they will be well advised by the nurses on how they can stay healthy.
When the state of nursing homes is improved, the nurses shall have an adequate time delivering Medicare to the patients, therefore, a significant reduction in the number of patients experiencing falls. The environment of the patients also cause falls among the elderly. Obstacles such as furniture, raised beds, slippery floor, et cetera have been associated with falls of the old. Furthermore, improving nursing conditions motivates the nurses to perform their work efficiently as they feel encouraged. Also, the patients will be encouraged to seek medication in the healthcare centre; therefore, reducing the number of falls experienced.
When the surveillance methods are improved, nurses will have an easy time in knowing how many patients are in critical conditions and how many of them are improving. Surveillance methods enhance proper records, and they are an effective way of monitoring the patients without any of them pretending (Bischoff-Ferrari et al., 2015). Besides, the hospital can know how the nurses are working and how effective each one of them is to the hospital.
There are many factors related to falls among the elderly, and most of them have been classified as being intrinsic as they come about due to physiological changes that happen due to aging, diseases, as well as impacts of medications. Most essential factors are associated with circumstances as well as environmental factors (Ambrose et al., 2013). Falls among the elderly can result in severe damage among the elderly as they have a weak immune system.
Evaluation of the plan is necessary as it helps the nurses to know how effective their plan was to the healthcare centre. The project can be evaluated through surveying the nurses' attitude, patients' perspective, and the number of injuries among the elderly associated with falls before and after the plan was implemented. The use of survey among nurses is a useful tool that can be used to know the attitude of the nurses towards preventing the elderly from falls (Chang and Do, 2015). The use of survey may prove to be time to consume as well as complex due to its nature. A survey first involves creating and sending massive email invitations to the nurses for the survey then producing charts as well as graphs which illustrate the results of the study. The study can focus on the gender of the nurses towards the elderly among many other factors.
Surveying the patients' attitude towards medication can help to know how effective the plan is to the elderly. A questionnaire containing factors such as effectiveness the treatment, comfort ability, improvements, and if they feel they are better off with the nurses compared to their relatives are the factors that can be included in the survey. Questions related to these variables can be useful to know whether the plan is helping the patients or not and whether the program can be implemented in full. The male elderly patients can be subjected to some separate additional questions as compared to the female elderly patients. The female elderly patients can also have their other issues which may not appear in the male elderly patients as some factors affect the female and they do not affect the male. For instance, studies reveal that the female genders are more prone to falls when they are old compared to their male counterparts (Ambrose et al., 2013).
Evaluating the number of injuries related to falls after and before the plan helps the management to know how effective the program is to the hospital. Statistics can be taken regarding the number of injuries the patients had before they enrolled in the program and after they started receiving medication. The information would be helpful to know how effective the program is to the hospital.
Conclusion
The plan can be effective in reducing falls among the patients as the evaluation suggests a reduction in the number of falls and injuries resulting from falls. Falls are common among the elderly due to their age as they do not respond faster and efficiently to risks compared to their young counterparts. Furthermore, it has been noted that the elderly react slowly to step initiation as well as execution timing. Their time coordination has been linked to reduced extremity risk to fractures, and the impact of damage is far much in them compared to their young counterparts.
References
Ambrose, A. F., Paul, G., &Hausdorff, J. M. (2013). Risk factors for falls among older adults: a review of the literature. Maturitas, 75(1), 51-61.
Bischoff-Ferrari, H. A., Orav, J. E., Kanis, J. A., Rizzoli, R., Schlögl, M., Staehelin, H. B., & Dawson-Hughes, B. (2015). Comparative performance of current definitions of sarcopenia against the prospective incidence of falls among community-dwelling seniors age 65 and older.Osteoporosis International, 26(12), 2793-2802.
Chang, V. C., & Do, M. T. (2015). Risk factors for falls among seniors: implications of gender. American journal of epidemiology, 181(7), 521-531
