The purpose of the assignment is to provide participants with a chance to identify the potential need for a quality improvement project or restructuring of a current project

Need For a Quality Improvement Project

 Pressure Ulcers and Patient Falls for the Quality Improvement

            The quality improvement initiatives examined for the assignment were pressure ulcers (PUs) and patient falls. The occurrences of these conditions and their impact on quality of life are regarded to have severe effects if the care facilities do not handle them suitably. Disability and geriatric symptoms in older people mainly influence daily functioning routines and wellbeing. Particularly among chronically ill individuals, pressure ulcers are nevertheless prevalent and expensive among the fragile elderly population, and a greater understanding of holistic, preventative measures and rehabilitative methods for pressure ulcers is needed. The distribution of pressure ulcer in hospitals ranged between 8 to 14 percent among hospital groups, with a risk ranging from three to five percent (Jaul et al., 2018).

            On the other hand, patient falls, especially amongst senior patients, are widespread and have catastrophic consequence in-hospital treatment. Epidemiological studies showed that falls happened between 3 and 5 times a 1000 bed occasions, and the Agency Health Research and Quality had estimated that between 700,000 and 1 million inpatients fall every year. The danger of falls is also exceptionally serious for residents in long-term care institutions. About half the United States' 1.6 million elderly homes experience falls each year. The 2014 Department of the Inspector General study showed that almost 10 percent of catastrophic incidents occurred in Medicare (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2019). 

Patient Falls Evaluation Methods

            The mental facility I work for gathers statistics on patient falls for internal analyses and collaborates in the independent registry - the National Database for Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) as an aspect of the Magnet continuous quality improvement initiative.  The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) offers several falls mitigation strategies. Specific to falls, AHRQ has the Tracking Record for Improving Patient Safety (TRIPS) tool I utilized to measure falls data in our existing hospital in this scenario Fall Management Program (FMP). I had used this tool to assess the results of the FMP, including falls, individuals who had fallen, people suffering from two or more falls, and significant injuries. I had been able to detect variations connected to categories of falls employing the evidence collected on the TRIPS forms. And given such characteristics as a specific place, date and task, I could understand in which zone huge percentages of falls happened, about which time of the day and under which precise interaction (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2017). 

Patient Fall Management Initiative among Geriatrics

            The initiative chosen for quality improvement is patient fall management. The reason for this selection is due to fall commonality among geriatric patients in the psychiatric inpatient hospital. Geriatrics is a medical specialty dedicated to older people's health. No age stipulates when a geriatrician is needed. However, suppose a patient's circumstances produce substantial impaired or fragile conditions. An increasing quantity of prescription drugs does not show the proper treatments, or family relatives and acquaintances feel incredibly stressed as caretakers. In that case, it is necessary to explore senior care. An elderly patient possesses a particular issue characteristic which the doctor can concentrate on (Türkbeyler et al., 2019). For elderly patients, falling is a prevalent and severe concern. Most cases are caused by numerous reasons comprising gait, coordination, muscle and visual impairments. For most individuals, polypharmacy and some drugs lead to falls and could be a remedial concern. Tailored multiphase procedures can avert many falls. The most successful single measures are exercise programmes, therapy, drug regulation and therapy of vitamin D insufficiency (James et al., 2020). The raising cases of patient falls in the geriatric unit at our facility is an indication that a quality improvement initiative is needed now. 

Quality Improvement Initiative: Outline

Pressure Ulcers and Patient Falls for the Quality Improvement

• The quality improvement initiatives examined for the assignment were pressure ulcers (PUs) and patient falls. The occurrences of these conditions and their impact on quality of life are regarded to have severe effects if the care facilities do not handle them suitably.
• The distribution of pressure ulcer in hospitals ranged between 8 to 14 percent among hospital groups, with a risk ranging from three to five percent (Jaul et al., 2018).
• The 2014 Department of the Inspector General study showed that almost 10 percent of catastrophic incidents occurred in Medicare (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2019). 

Patient Falls Evaluation Methods

• Specific to falls, AHRQ has the Tracking Record for Improving Patient Safety (TRIPS) tool I utilized to measure falls data in our existing hospital in this scenario Fall Management Program (FMP).
• I had used this tool to assess the results of the FMP, including falls, individuals who had fallen, people suffering from two or more falls, and significant injuries.

Patient Fall Management Initiative among Geriatrics

• The initiative chosen for quality improvement is patient fall management. The reason for this selection is due to fall commonality among geriatric patients in the psychiatric inpatient hospital.
• An elderly patient possesses a particular issue characteristic which the doctor can concentrate on (Türkbeyler et al., 2019). For elderly patients, falling is a prevalent and severe concern.
• Tailored multiphase procedures can avert many falls. The most successful single measures are exercise programmes, therapy, drug regulation and therapy of vitamin D insufficiency (James et al., 2020).

Need For a New Quality Improvement Initiative

Q1: What initiatives or programs did you consider and why?

            The quality improvement measures considered for the assignment were pressure ulcers and patient falls. The argument was that both occurrences and their impact on quality of life had severe effects if care facilities did not handle them appropriately. Disability and geriatric symptoms in older people mainly influence their daily functioning routines and wellbeing. Particularly among chronically ill individuals, pressure ulcers are nevertheless prevalent and expensive, and a greater understanding of holistic, preventative measures and rehabilitative methods are needed. The distribution of pressure ulcers in hospitals ranged between 8 to 14 percent among hospital groups, with a risk ranging from three to five percent (Jaul et al., 2018).

           On the other hand, patient falls, especially amongst senior patients, are widespread and have catastrophic consequences regarding in-hospital treatment. Epidemiological studies showed that falls happened between 3 and 5 times a 1000 bed, and the Agency Health Research and Quality had estimated that between 700,000 and 1 million inpatients experienced patient fall every year. The danger of inpatient falls is indicated to be exceptionally serious for residents in long-term care institutions. About half the United States' 1.6 million elderly homes experience falls each year. The 2014 Department of the Inspector General study showed that almost 10 percent of catastrophic incidents occurred in care settings (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2019). 

Q2: What evaluation methods did you use to review an existing program or identify a needed initiative?

            The mental facility I work for gathers statistics on patient falls for internal analyses and collaborates with an independent registry - the National Database for Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) as an aspect of the hospital's Magnet continuous quality improvement strategy.  The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) offers several fall mitigation methods and tools. Specific to falls, AHRQ has the Tracking Record for Improving Patient Safety (TRIPS) tool that I utilized to measure falls data in our existing hospital to develop a new patient falls prevention initiative. I had used this tool to assess the results and data recorded regarding individuals who had encountered a fall situation, patients who had suffered from two or more falls, and cases of significant injuries. I had been able to detect variations connected to categories of falls by employing the evidence collected using TRIPS forms. And given such characteristics as a specific place, date, and task, I could understand in which category and corresponding percentages of falls happened. More so, I understood the finer details about which time of the day and under which precise interaction a fall had occurred (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2017). 

Q3: Which program or initiate did you choose to use for your project and why?

            The new initiative chosen for quality improvement implementation was the patient falls. The reason for this selection was due to fall commonality among geriatric patients in the psychiatric inpatient hospital. Geriatrics is a medical specialty dedicated to older people's health. No age stipulates when a geriatrician is needed. However, it can be required when a patient's circumstances produce substantial impaired or fragile conditions; an increasing quantity of prescription drugs does not show the proper treatments, or family relatives and acquaintances feel incredibly stressed as caretakers. In that case, it is necessary to explore senior care. An elderly patient possesses a particular issue characteristic which the doctor can concentrate on (Türkbeyler et al., 2019). For elderly folks, falling is a prevalent and severe concern. Most cases are caused by numerous reasons comprising gait, coordination, muscle, and visual impairments. For most individuals, polypharmacy and some drugs lead to falls and could be a remedial concern. Tailored multiphase procedures can avert many falls. The most successful single measures are exercise activities, therapy, drug regulation, and therapy of vitamin D insufficiency (James et al., 2020).