7127SOH Research and Evidence Based Practice Assignment Sample

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Introduction to 7127SOH Research and Evidence Based Practice Assignment

Research and Evidence Based Practice is a core part of nursing and healthcare courses, yet many students look for help in writing assignments when they must link theory, evidence, and clinical practice. This 7127SOH assignment focuses on fall prevention in older adults, showing how to move from a focused clinical question to a structured review of current research. By following a clear framework, students can learn to evaluate evidence, compare guidelines, and develop realistic recommendations that improve safety and quality of care in primary settings.

7127SOH Research and Evidence Based Practice Assignment Sample

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Daniela Marchant 5 Years | MSc

Section 1

Among the most common problems that older individuals face, falls rank high in terms of the frequency of occurrence, outcomes, and impact on the loss of the ability to live independently. Falls are not uncommon among the elderly population – every year third of seniors over 65 falls at least once and can sustain injuries ranging from broken bones to necessitating hospitalisation or developing chronic health issues (Clemson et al., 2023). Today, there is a growing concern about the elderly health, especially on how to prevent falls and maintain the elderly’s independence.

To write about this topic I had my reasons because if falls are prevented, the health and well-being of elderly individuals would be enhanced; and a significant burden would be shifted from the healthcare system. Most falls might be prevented through exercise, medication, and assessing the home environment among others. However, eventually, various approaches and methods of fall prevention are available but they are not properly implemented in primary care practices (Montero-Odasso et al., 2021).

More precisely, this synthesis review intended to find out why there is low adherence to fall prevention programs. I identified the challenges the healthcare providers encounter, such as time and patients, and came up with the best ways that they can implement to address the problem of falls.

Section 2

The research question I came up with for this assignment using the PICO framework is useful in formulating clinical questions. The Population I chose was older adults in primary care settings, the Intervention was falling prevention strategies, the comparison was with standard care, and the Outcomes concerned the rates of falls as well as adherence to measures put in place. This question was asked: “The following question was key: What is the expansion of the barriers to works and the implementation of optimal fall prevention programs across primary care units; how are the challenges?” In my case, a few databases I used included PubMed, CINAHL, MEDLINE, and Science Direct. I used concepts such as “fall prevention”, “older adults”, “primary care”, “barriers” and “enablers”. As a next step, I narrowed down the results further by filtering out source type as ‘scholarly (peer-reviewed)’ and year as 2019 to 2024, the use of language as English, and full-text availability (Sherrington et al., 2020).

Section 3

The first paper by Johnston et al. (2023) assessed the efficacy of the STEADI (Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries) program in primary care based on RE-AIM. This paper revealed the fact that fall prevention that is well structured is effective when it comes to the implementation of such. Nevertheless, challenges like lack of ample time, other pressing health issues also require attention, and high turnover of personnel hampered the program. These were EMR integration to support Fall Risk identification as well as Follow-ups, Support from Leadership, and Provider training regarding best practices in addressing patient Falls and implementing lessons learned (Johnston et al., 2019).

The second piece of work done by Meekes et all (2022, accepted) aimed at identifying barriers and facilitators of implementing falling in primary care. Some of the patients’ challenges that were recorded included inadequate remunerations, lack of patient compliance, and lack of communication between professionals. These were such factors as effective teamwork among clinicians, available structural care plans, and elevated consciousness of fall hazards among patient caregivers and patients (Meekes et al., 2022).

These two articles called for better training, funding, and policies to support efforts in fall prevention within primary care settings. Nevertheless, some issues concern real life and environmental factors affect the use of structured interventions such as STEADI. Reducing or eliminating these barriers by conducting a range of systematic changes and resource distribution may enhance the fall prevention of the elderly.

Section 4

The two selected papers’ themes revolve around the general aspects of fall prevention, including and evaluating the effectiveness and implementation, and factors that promote success. These are congruent with the NICE guideline regarding fall prevention in older adults which involves generic risk factor assessment and individualised interventions.

1. Effectiveness of Fall Prevention Programs: These two affirmed that when implemented, structured fall prevention programs such as the STEADI lowers the incidence of falls among senior citizens. NICE guidelines include risk assessment of falls in the elderly, environmental changes in the home to minimize the risk factors, and exercise regimes that target muscle strength and balance to reduce falls. However, the two papers revealed that the usage of these interventions is not well uniform in primary care because of system-related factors(Child et al., 2021).
2. Barriers to Implementation: Some of the frequently cited limitations discussed in the studies include: time, patients and families, financial, and interdisciplinary factors. The NICE guidelines also stress the regular use of the tools for the assessment of fall risk in the clinical practice of healthcare givers. Nevertheless, it has been observed in real-life situations that healthcare workers are in a position to provide conflicting clinical practices, which implement programs aimed at preventing the occurrence of falls very poor(McConville & Hooven, 2020).
3. Facilitators for Success: Both of the researchers pointed out that the use, leadership, and interdisciplinary coordination of EMRs reduce fall incidents. NICE cares also support team work, co-ordinate approaches, and implements strict training for the providers to improve the fall prevention measures. Adherence to NICE guidelines will involve enhancing the frequency of communication between the healthcare providers and the patients, particularly about the issue of fall prevention during the designing of care paths and females in the development of care plans(Tricco et al., 2019).

Section 5

The primary findings of the appraisal can be summed up with the idea that fall prevention interventions are evidence-based and feasible in primary care, but they are not implemented as frequently as they could and should be due to system factors. Implementation is also an issue due to time constraints, lack of sufficient funds, and patients’ resistance to change. Yet, the incorporation of fall risk assessments into flows, the use of electronic medical records, and enhanced interprofessional teamwork can be more effective.

Recommendations:

• Enhance the knowledge of the elderly and healthcare givers.
• Increase the accessibility of funds and policies for funding and the enhancement of fall prevention programmes.
• Increase cooperation between doctors, nurses, and physiotherapists to improve the chances of intervention outcomes.

References

• Child, S., Goodwin, V., Garside, R., Jones-Hughes, T., & Boddy, K. (2021). "Factors Influencing the Implementation of Fall-Prevention Programmes: A Systematic Review and Synthesis of Qualitative Studies." Implementation Science, 16(1), 1–20.
• Clemson, L., Mackenzie, L., Ballinger, C., Close, J. C. T., & Cumming, R. G. (2023). "Environmental Interventions for Preventing Falls in Older People Living in the Community." Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (2), CD005465.
• Johnston, Y. A., Bergen, G., Bauer, M., Parker, E. M., Wentworth, L., McFadden, M., Reome, C., & Garnett, M. (2019). "Implementation of the Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries Initiative in Primary Care: An Outcome Evaluation." The Gerontologist, 59(6), 1182–1191.
• McConville, A., & Hooven, K. (2020). "Factors Influencing the Implementation of Falls Prevention Practice in Primary Care: A Literature Review." The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 16(3), 228–233.
• Meekes, W., Korevaar, J. C., & van Balen, R. (2022). "Implementing Falls Prevention in Primary Care: Barriers and Facilitators." International Journal of General Medicine, 15, 3945–3957.
• Montero-Odasso, M., Kamkar, N., Pieruccini-Faria, F., Osman, A., Sarquis-Adamson, Y., Close, J., Hogan, D. B., Hunter, S. W., Kenny, R. A., Lipsitz, L. A., Petrovic, M., Ryg, J., Speechley, M., Sturnieks, D. L., & Wells, J. L. (2021). "Evaluation of Clinical Practice Guidelines on Fall Prevention and Management for Older Adults: A Systematic Review." JAMA Network Open, 4(12), e2138911.
• Sherrington, C., Fairhall, N., Kwok, W., Wallbank, G., Tiedemann, A., Michaleff, Z. A., Howard, K., Clemson, L., Hopewell, S., & Lamb, S. (2020). "Evidence on Physical Activity and Falls Prevention for People Aged 65+ Years: Systematic Review to Inform the WHO Guidelines on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour." International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 17(1), 144.
• Tricco, A. C., Thomas, S. M., Veroniki, A. A., Hamid, J. S., Cogo, E., Strifler, L., Khan, P. A., Sibley, K. M., MacDonald, H., Riva, J. J., Thavorn, K., Wilson, C., Holroyd-Leduc, J., Kerr, G. D., Feldman, F., Majumdar, S. R., Jaglal, S. B., Hui, W., & Straus, S. E. (2019). "Comparisons of Interventions for Preventing Falls in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis." JAMA, 319(16), 1687–1699.