Investigating the impact of a falls prevention community of practice in a residential aged‐care setting: a mixed methods study protocol

Francis‐Coad, Jacqueline; Etherton‐Beer, Christopher; Bulsara, Caroline; Nobre, Debbie; Hill, Anne‐Marie

doi:10.1111/jan.12725

Cited by 11 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 56 publications

(52 reference statements)

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“…This study reports on one aspect of a large mixed methods fall prevention project conducted in an Australian RAC organisation (Francis‐Coad, Etherton‐Beer, Bulsara, Nobre, & Hill, ). Briefly, the project evaluated how a group of interdisciplinary RAC staff with a common interest in falls prevention (community of practice) identified gaps in fall prevention practice (Francis‐Coad, Etherton‐Beer, Bulsara, Nobre, & Hill, ), prioritised goals collaboratively and implemented selected falls prevention strategies across the RAC organisation (Francis‐Coad, Etherton‐Beer, Bulsara, Blackburn, Chivers, & Hill, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of care staff knowledge, confidence, motivation and opportunity for preventing falls in residential aged care settings: A cross‐sectional survey

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Etherton‐Beer

et al. 2019

Int J Older People Nursing

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Aims:To explore care staff knowledge about falls and confidence, motivation and opportunity to undertake fall prevention strategies, in residential aged care (RAC) along with preferences for fall prevention education.Background: Falls account for the majority of adverse clinical events in RAC settings.Care staff in RAC settings are in a key position to influence residents' actions to prevent falls, provided they have the necessary knowledge and skills. Methods:A cross-sectional survey design with a purposive sample of 147 care staff at eight RAC facilities was undertaken in 2015. A custom-designed questionnaire examining knowledge, confidence, motivation and opportunity to undertake falls prevention strategies was used. Results:Only 39 (26.5%) care staff were aware that the residents they cared for were at high risk of falls. Care staff knowledge of intrinsic falls risk factors was very limited, for example, only 18 (13.53%) observed for side effects of medication and just four (1.04%) were aware of continence issues. Conflicting duties also limited care staff time to undertake falls prevention strategies. Preferences for falls prevention education indicated face-to-face interactive discussions in the workplace (n = 98, [66.7%]) with reminder posters displayed around the facility (n = 80, [70.8%]). Conclusions:Residential aged care organisations need to engage with care staff to provide tailored falls education incorporating learning preferences and targeting knowledge gaps, to improve awareness of intrinsic risk factor impact and uptake of evidence-based prevention strategies. Despite care staff being highly motivated, they have limited opportunity to assist residents with fall prevention within their workload. RAC management and funding bodies must address opportunity for care staff to fulfil this crucial role to benefit resident safety. Implication for practice:This study identified gaps in care staffs' knowledge and skills in undertaking falls prevention strategies in residential aged care settings.These findings will assist residential aged care organisations and health professional educators to design evidence-based falls prevention education tailored to their care staffs' needs and preferences to facilitate adoption.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of care staff knowledge, confidence, motivation and opportunity for preventing falls in residential aged care settings: A cross‐sectional survey

Francis‐Coad

Hang

Etherton‐Beer

et al. 2019

Int J Older People Nursing

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“…This study was part of a larger study conducted within the RAC organization, which was evaluating how a group of staff leaders in falls prevention could translate falls prevention evidence into practice across the organization. 19 All staff working in the organization were informed of the data collection period for the larger study. The larger study received ethical approval from the University human research ethics committee and the RAC organization.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing knowledge, motivation and perceptions about falls prevention among care staff in a residential aged care setting

et al. 2016

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Falls are a serious problem in residential aged care settings. The aims of the study were to determine the feasibility of surveying care staff regarding falls prevention, and describe care staff levels of knowledge and awareness of residents' risk of falls, knowledge about falls prevention, motivation and confidence to implement falls prevention strategies. A custom designed questionnaire was administered to care staff at one site of a large residential aged care organization in Australia. The survey response was 58.8%. Feedback from staff was used to inform the administration of the survey to the wider organization. Seven (29.2%) care staff reported they were unsure or thought residents were at low risk of falls. Only five (20.8%) care staff were able to suggest more than three preventive strategies. These preliminary findings suggest that education to change care staff behavior regarding falls prevention should target improving care staff knowledge and awareness of falls.

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“…The study formed part of a larger project, which aimed to evaluate the impact of operating a web-based falls prevention CoP on falls outcomes in a RAC setting. 24 The larger project used a realist approach to evaluation, 25 Data from three sources were collected during Phase 1 of the study:…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can a web-based community of practice be established and operated to lead falls prevention activity in residential care?

et al. 2017

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The aims of this study were to evaluate establishing and operating a web-based community of practice (CoP) to lead falls prevention in a residential aged care (RAC) setting. A mixed methods evaluation was conducted in two phases using a survey and transcripts from interactive electronic sources. Nurses and allied health staff (n = 20) with an interest in falls prevention representing 13 sites of an RAC organization participated. In Phase 1, the CoP was developed, and the establishment of its structure and composition was evaluated using determinants of success reported in the literature. In Phase 2, all participants interacted using the web, but frequency of engagement by any participant was low. Participatory barriers, including competing demands from other tasks and low levels of knowledge about information communication technology (ICT) applications, were identified by CoP members. A web-based CoP can be established and operated across multiple RAC sites if RAC management support dedicated time for web-based participation and staff are given web-based training.

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Investigating the impact of a falls prevention community of practice in a residential aged‐care setting: a mixed methods study protocol

Abstract: Findings from this research will assist residential aged-care providers to understand how to effectively translate evidence about falls prevention into clinical practice.

Cited by 11 publications

References 56 publications

Evaluation of care staff knowledge, confidence, motivation and opportunity for preventing falls in residential aged care settings: A cross‐sectional survey

Evaluation of care staff knowledge, confidence, motivation and opportunity for preventing falls in residential aged care settings: A cross‐sectional survey

Assessing knowledge, motivation and perceptions about falls prevention among care staff in a residential aged care setting

Can a web-based community of practice be established and operated to lead falls prevention activity in residential care?

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