Patient Safety Services: Reducing Resident Falls in California’s Senior Living Homes

<p>Older adults residing in California assisted living facilities (ALF) have an increased risk for falls, which have resulted in higher fall-related healthcare costs and demand for quality end-of-life (EOL) care services. California fall interventions are in a state of infancy to reduce the number of assisted living falls and associated medical care costs in at-risk seniors. OBJECTIVES Therefore, this dissertation project aims to provide more research documenting the effects of statewide fall programs for future study purposes. METHODS The project evaluated existing records for a one-year, two-phase fall prevention program used in a single site California senior living home. Both phases included evaluation of unintended side effects and whether risk of senior falling appeared to change based on program dosage. RESULTS Preliminary findings indicate a protective association between the rate of program participation and the number of reported falls across treatment conditions. CONCLUSION Recommended improvements address project limitations along with concerns in site program implementation, quality improvement, employee management, and cost-effective support services. Promising approaches were provided with recommendations for a fall prevention program that is demographically appropriate for California’s growing senior population.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Public Health, DPH

Level thesis:degree_level

Restricted to Claremont Colleges Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

School of Community and Global Health

Year dc:date.available

2021

Author dc:creator

• Holakoui, Ali Maziuar

Contributors dc:contributor

• Jay Orr
• Jason Siegel

• assisted living facilities
• end-of-life care
• fall prevention
• fall-related risk factors
• program dosage
• quality improvement
• Business Administration, Management, and Operations
• Public Health

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/260

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarship.claremont.edu:cgu_etd-1316