Sample Answer for NRS 465 Develop a PICOT question using your approved nursing practice problem Topic 3 DQ 1

 

 

Falls in elderly patients are a core concern because of their negative effects on patient safety and quality of care. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2024) posits that one in every four older persons falls at least once a year but less than half report such events to their healthcare providers. Again, over 1 million fall-related hospitalizations occur among older adults with risk factors like body weakness, lack of effective balance or gait, and medications as well as old age being responsible for the increased prevalence of falls (AlSumadi et al., 2023). Purposeful hourly rounding is an evidence-based practice (EBP) proven to reduce and prevent falls among older hospitalized patients. As such, based on the EBP process, developing a PICOT question is essential to addressing falls among older patients in inpatient facilities or settings (Vaishya et al., 2020). Older patients are susceptible to falls and require better interventions emanating from evidence and implemented by nurses to improve their safety by reducing and preventing their occurrence (Khawaja et al., 2023). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) considers falls as “never event” implying that it cannot reimburse providers and healthcare organizations for costs incurred in treating related outcomes.

PICOT Question

In elderly hospitalized patients (Population/problem), how does purposeful hourly rounding (Intervention) compared to normal rounding by nurses (Comparison) affect the rate of falls (Outcome) within three months (Time, optional)?

References

AlSumadi, M., AlAdwan, M., AlSumadi, A., Sangani, C., & Toh, E. (2023). Inpatient Falls and

Orthopaedic Injuries in Elderly Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis From a Falls Register. Cureus, 15(10). DOI: 10.7759/cureus.46976

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2024 May 6). Older Adult Fall Prevention:

            Facts about Falls. https://www.cdc.gov/falls/data-research/facts-stats/index.html