Improving hospital falls screening and mitigation using a health professional education framework

Objective: Although health professional education has the potential to mitigate hospital falls risk, the best methods to develop, deliver and evaluate health professional education remain unclear. This study applied evidence-based approaches to education design to improve falls risk mitigation.

Design: Mixed methods using questionnaires to evaluate health professionals knowledge of evidence-based falls risk assessment and mitigation, followed by semi-structured interviews with individual health professionals.

Setting: Five large Australian hospitals.

Participants: For each hospital, 10 clinical leaders from nursing and allied health professions were invited to participate in falls workshops.

Methods: 46 participants received a three-hour education program on the latest evidence in hospital falls risk assessment and how to implement evidence-based falls screening and management. This was based on the “4P” education model (Presage, Planning, Process and Product). They were taught practical skills to enable them to educate other health professionals.

Results: The education workshop significantly changed participants' views about best practice guidelines for falls screening and prevention. Participants felt more confident in assessing falls risk and judging and implementing the best mitigation strategies. They were prepared and motivated to educate others about falls prevention and satisfied with the skills gained.

Conclusions: A high-quality education program grounded in a rigorous quality framework improved health professionals knowledge regarding evidence-based falls prevention. Use of evidence-based rationales for behaviour change promotes effective learning.