| Primary Author: | Carolyn Lindgren, PhD, RN |
| Co-Principal Investigators/Collaborators: | Cheryl Brown, BSN, RN, Barbara Florence, RN |
| Organization | Baptist Health South Florida, Center for Research and Grants, Doctors Hospital |
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study was to determine the characteristics of patients using the Care of the Older Adult services and determine relationships among patient’s age, Morse Fall Score, Total Score and the individual items of the Patient Safety Mini Mental Exam (PSMMET).
Background
In the response for a restraint free environment, Doctors Hospital in 2007 launched the Care of the Older Adult program in which specially trained Patient Care Technicians took the role as bedside companions to ensure the safety and the well being of the patients (Antonelli, 2008). Success of the program led to popular demand for the Care of the Older Adult services. The next step was to develop an assessment/ screening tool that could be used to determine patiens’ eligibility for the program to ensure those with the greatest need received the service and effective use was made of allocated resources for the program.
Materials & Methods
A survey correlational design was used. After IRB approval, data were collected from 73 participants, patients or their responsible family member, enrolled in the hospital’s sitter program.
The 19 item (PSMMET) was developed for the study and scored with yes or no for each characteristic listed. Other data collected were Demographic information and the Morse Fall Score (1997) for each participant.
Results
Fifty percent of the participants were 80 years or age or older. Ten items of PSMMET indicated characteristics shared by 50% or more of the participants. The Cronbach Alpha for the instrument was .78. Two characteristics had the highest percents, “Trying to get out of bed without assistance” and “Having Mental Deficits”. The PSMMET score did not correlate to the Morse Scale Score.
Discussion
The formulation of an assessment tool for screening patients for the Care of the Older Adult Program based on the results will be discussed.
Bibliography
Antonelli, M. T. (2008). Restraint management: Moving From outcome to process. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 23(3), 227-232.
Morse, J. M. (1997). Preventing patient falls. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
© Improvement Science Research Network, 2012
The ISRN published this as received and with permission from the author(s).