Patient falls in inpatient settings
In this paper, the experimental design chosen for the study will be discussed briefly, and the choice of nurses as the sample for the study justified. The method of recruitment of the study participants will also be described.
Experimental design
The study will be cross-sectional and descriptive in nature. This is because it will be conducted at one place and at one time. Additionally, it seeks to describe the factors that hinder the implementation of fall prevention strategies by nurses. The proposed study will, therefore, not utilize any experimental designs. It will be devoid of the characteristic features of an experimental design such as a treatment and a control group and pre-post test design. However, to eliminate selection bias, the participants in the study will be randomly selected (Houser, 2012, p. 356).
This study is aimed at identifying the factors that hinder the implementation of fall prevention strategies by nurses. The research question for the study, ‘what factors hinder the utilization of fall prevention strategies by nurses?’ seeks to establish a causal pattern. However, it does not render itself to experimental investigation. On the contrary, it is a question that needs to be explored qualitatively in order to facilitate the identification of the factors that will emerge from the responses that will be provided by the participants. The researcher will also have no control over the study variables. The qualitative design of the study was adopted primarily to prevent the imposition of preconceived barriers on the participants (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005).
Justification for the sample selected
The sample for the study will consist of nurses randomly selected from a list of nurses working in a long-term care facility. Nurses were selected because they are responsible for providing nursing care to patients such as assessing risk for falls and they interact most with the elderly patients in nursing homes. Considering that patient falls are perceived to be preventable adverse events, the problem under study impacts negatively on the perceived quality of nursing care.
In addition, many studies that have explored barriers and facilitators to the successful implementation of evidence-based practices have mostly targeted physicians (Grimshaw et al., 2004 as cited in Koh et al., 2008). Paucity in knowledge of the barriers to change of practice amongst nurses, therefore, exists. Collated evidence from the few studies that have focused on nurses suggests that they lack the skills and the time to search and critically appraise research articles. Empirical evidence further suggests that nurses are usually uncertain of the intervention strategies to implement when studies report mixed findings (Davies, 2002 as cited in Koh et al., 2008). The incorporation of evidence-based practices into the status quo portends significant benefits to client outcomes. Therefore, nurses were selected as the sample for the study because patient outcomes amongst the elderly residents of nursing homes can be significantly improved if knowledge on falls prevention was translated into practice.
Recruitment and selection of participants for the study
The participants of the study will be randomly selected from a list of registered nurses working in five nursing homes. All nurses working in these facilities will, therefore, have an equal chance of being included in the study. The administration of these nursing homes will be approached and the feasibility of conducting the study in their facilities discussed. The study will commence once authority to conduct the study in these facilities is granted by the University and the respective hospital administrations. Of the registered nurses identified from the sample frame, only those who consent orally and in writing to being interviewed by the researcher will be included in the study.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the proposed study will not utilize any experimental design. Rather, it will be cross-sectional and descriptive in nature. Nurses were selected for the study due to amongst other reasons, the unique role they play in patient care particularly in fall assessment and prevention. The nurses who will participate in the study will be randomly selected from a list of all nurses working in five nursing homes.
References
Houser, J. (2012). Nursing research: Reading, using, and creating evidence (2nd ed.). Sudbury,
MA: Jones& Barlett Learning.
Hsieh, H.F., & Shannon, S.E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis.
Qualitative health research, 15(9), 1277-1288.
Koh, S. S. L., Manias, E., Hutchinson, A.M., Donath, S., & Johnston, L. (2008). Nurses’
perceived barriers to the implementation of a fall prevention clinical practice guideline in
Singapore hospitals. BMC Health Services Research, 8, 105.
