Using Patient Simulation to Promote Best Practices in Fall Prevention and Postfall Assessment in Nursing Homes.

BACKGROUND

Fall-related injuries rise with age and are of particular concern for frail populations living in nursing homes.

LOCAL PROBLEM: The Perley and Rideau Veterans' Health Centre is a large nursing home in Ontario, Canada. In 2019, we conducted internal audits of our Falls Prevention Program and identified notable variations in staff's response to a resident fall.

INTERVENTIONS: We developed an in situ patient simulation program of a resident fall.

METHODS

This was a mixed-methods evaluation of participants' perspectives of a simulation-based interprofessional education program for fall prevention.

RESULTS

Participants indicated high-level support for simulation-based learning, with more than 80% of the participants expressing that they will apply these skills in the future when caring for a resident who falls.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicate that simulation-based training is well received by frontline workers in a nursing home setting and can be conducted as part of a typical shift with minimal disruption to resident care.