| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5567844 | Geriatric Nursing | 2017 | 7 Pages |
Abstract
Falls remain a major geriatric problem, and the search for new solutions continues. We investigated how existing fall prevention technology was experienced within nursing home nurses' environment and workflow. Our NIH-funded study in an American nursing home was followed by a cultural learning exchange with a Dutch nursing home. We constructed two case reports from interview and observational data and compared the magnitude of falls, safety cultures, and technology characteristics and effectiveness. Falls were a high-magnitude problem at the US site, with a collectively vigilant safety culture attending to non-directional audible alarms; falls were a low-magnitude problem at the NL site which employed customizable, infrared sensors that directed text alerts to assigned staff members' mobile devices in patient-centered care culture. Across cases, 1) a coordinated communication system was essential in facilitating effective fall prevention alert response, and 2) nursing home safety culture is tightly associated with the chosen technological system.
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Authors
Ann E. PhD, MPH, Bert-Jan PhD, Vera G.P. MS, Elizabeth PhD, RN, FAAN, Theodore M. MD, MPH,