Evaluating a Quality Improvement Initiative to Reduce Falls in Patients With Meniere’s Disease Research Paper

Quality Improvement Initiative Evaluation

In the field of healthcare, ensuring the highest quality of care for patients is of particular value. In this context, it is crucial to prioritize quality improvement initiatives to prevent the occurrence of specific problems. One of the common issues in healthcare institutions is an increase in the number of falls among patients, especially those with Meniere’s disease. One of the quality improvement initiatives that can be used to prevent this problem is focusing on the development of peer interventions, which have a positive impact on limiting the problem and improving the quality of medical services.

Current Quality Improvement Initiative in a Healthcare Setting

The most critical part of providing health services is ensuring the highest quality of care is provided. This aspect can be implemented in several ways, for which training is necessary for nurses. To assess the appropriateness of the proposed quality improvement intervention, it is necessary to analyze it in a healthcare setting. The first aspect is to determine the reason for the need to introduce changes in the process of assisting individuals.

In the context of this study, the increase in falls in patients with diseases such as Meniere’s disease is attributed to It is defined as “an inner ear problem that can cause dizzy spells, also called vertigo, and hearing loss” (“Meniere’s disease,” n.d., para. 1). In the presence of this disease, patients can often lose their balance and fall, which negatively affects their well-being. It is stated that “typically, these drop attacks occur instantaneously and manifest as a sensation of being pushed from behind or of a sudden movement in the environment” (Jeng & Young, 2021, p. 687). Meniere’s disease can also cause migraines, due to which “patients with migraine may suffer an increased risk of falls and dizziness handicap” (Huang et al., 2021, p. 1056). Thus, there is a need to introduce initiatives that provide opportunities to mitigate undesirable consequences for patients.

Several problems were not addressed within the framework of the chosen approach to improve quality. One of them is the impact of peer interventions on reducing the number of falls in patients with Meniere’s disease. In addition, it is crucial to gain an understanding of the role played by nurses in the implementation of the proposed initiative. Thus, the problem of determining how peer intervention can be most effectively and quickly implemented in healthcare organizations to improve the quality of medical services and reduce the number of falls among patients with Meniere’s disease arose.

Success of a Current Quality Initiative

Several useful benchmarks and outcome measures can be used to determine the effectiveness of the proposed initiative. The first of them is the fall reduction rate, which provides an opportunity to track how the number of falls among patients with Meniere’s disease has changed during the implementation of the intervention. The research emphasized that the “common component of multiple interventions significantly associated with a reduction in the number of fallers and fall rate is basic falls risk assessment” (Dautzenberg et al., 2021, p. 2973). Therefore, it is essential to analyze and assess the situation before using the approach and after to gain a complete picture of its effectiveness and productivity.

Another outcome measure is the assessment of Adherence to Protocols by medical professionals. This aspect implies the analysis and assessment of actions that specialists take when patients fall. Compliance with national, state, or accreditation standards, as identified by a particular healthcare institution, becomes a critical component of this process. The necessity of this measure is that it provides an opportunity to ensure improved compliance and improve the quality of services provided. This aspect is also closely related to the legal side of the issue, as it implies following specific standards that will ensure the safety of not only patients but also the entire medical care facility and its staff.

Root cause analysis is one of the valuable initiatives to measure the success of the initiative being implemented. The basis of this intervention is the analysis of the existing problem in the institution and the identification of problems that become its root (Latino et al., 2019). Thus, before getting the results of the implemented approach to improve the quality of services, it is possible to acquire metrics by which its effectiveness will be measured. In the context of this research paper, one of the underlying causes is a lack of peer support and interventions aimed at building awareness about the problem in a medical organization. Thus, after implementing the necessary changes in the work of the staff and the healthcare facility, success can be shown with reduced recurrence of falls due to the previously existing causes.

The success of the proposed benchmarks or outcome measures largely depends on what goals the medical institution pursues. Within the framework of limiting and preventing falls, root cause analysis is of particular importance. The first reason is the identification of problems that were not obvious initially when considering the issue of falls in a medical organization. In addition, this intervention provides an opportunity to effectively determine how an approach to improving healthcare can be implemented. Moreover, root cause analysis helps to expand the number of aspects that need to be paid attention to when training staff to work with patients with a high risk of falls and harm to well-being.

Interprofessional Perspectives Related to Initiative Functionality and Outcomes

The interprofessional team significantly contributes to the success of the initiative to improve quality in a medical institution. This is due to the fact that it involves professionals from several fields of activity, each of which can provide personal experience in solving the problem under discussion. Wei and Watson (2019) stated that “interprofessional teamwork seeks to re-pattern and improve the structure and process of patient care delivery” (p. 18). Therefore, solving the problem of falls among patients with Meniere’s disease is of particular value.

There are several perspectives that can be highlighted when interacting with interprofessional team members involved in the initiative. Nurses can provide valuable insight into how peer interventions affect the well-being of patients. An example would be the introduction of specialized exercise programs for patients who are “associated with a lower risk of falls and fall‐related fractures” (Dautzenberg et al., 2021, p. 2982).

Nurses can provide feedback regarding the amount of unwanted incident data. Professionals such as physical and occupational therapists can contribute by recommending exercises or adaptive equipment to reduce fall risk. Thus, it was necessary to conduct a conversation with professionals from these areas of patient care. They have an impact on the analysis of the problem by providing a broader understanding of what interventions can be used to increase the success of the implementation of the quality improvement initiative.

Additional Indicators and Protocols to Improve and Expand Outcomes

First of all, the implementation of a risk assessment protocol can bring remarkable efficiency. This aspect is due to the fact that even with the introduction of an approach to improve the quality of services and reduce the number of falls, there is a possibility of a repeat of an undesirable situation. This may be due to the insufficient equipment of some departments of the healthcare institution or the personal unique characteristics of patients. Therefore, it is necessary to create a risk assessment protocol that will contribute to the creation of universal medical conditions that do not pose a threat to all types of patients.

Telehealth has become an additional technology that can contribute to improving quality outcomes. The advantage of this innovation is that “patients can participate in telehealth encounters from their homes, from other healthcare providers’ offices, or from other healthcare facilities such as emergency departments” (Haulman et al., 2020, p. 2). Thus, this technology can provide medical professionals with the ability to monitor the patient’s well-being remotely to increase the productivity and efficiency of their work by reducing time costs.

One of the outcome measures that can be added is the level of patient satisfaction. This is due to the fact that, in the framework of patient-centered care, receiving feedback is of critical value. It helps to gain the opportunity to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the intervention.

Conclusion

In conclusion, as part of the solution to the problem of falls among patients who have Meniere’s disease, the evaluation of quality improvement interventions in a medical institution plays a leading role. This process involves analyzing the success of a current quality Initiative and highlighting aspects that require more attention. This procedure should pay attention to interprofessional perspectives related to initiative functionality and outcomes. This aspect is essential because it can provide a valuable perspective on a more effective approach to addressing the issue under discussion. In addition, it is essential to consider additional indicators and protocols to improve and expand outcomes in order to improve the proposed initiative and achieve the most favorable results of its implementation.

References

Dautzenberg, L., Beglinger, S., Tsokani, S., Zevgiti, S., Raijmann, R. C., Rodondi, N.,… & Koek, H. L. (2021). Interventions for preventing falls and fall‐related fractures in community‐dwelling older adults: A systematic review and network meta‐analysis. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 69(10), 2973-2984.

Haulman, A., Geronimo, A., Chahwala, A., & Simmons, Z. (2020). The use of telehealth to enhance care in ALS and other neuromuscular disorders. Muscle & Nerve, 61(6), 682-691.

Huang, R. J., Smith, S. L., Brezina, L., & Riska, K. M. (2021). A comparison of falls and dizziness handicap by vestibular diagnosis. American Journal of Audiology, 30(4), 1048-1057.

Jeng, Y. J., & Young, Y. H. (2021). Comparison of inner ear deficits in Meniere’s variants and their significance. Acta Oto-Laryngologica, 141(7), 684-688.

Latino, M. A., Latino, R. J., & Latino, K. C. (2019). Root cause analysis: improving performance for bottom-line results. CRC press.

Meniere’s disease. (n.d.). Mayo Clinic.

Wei, H., & Watson, J. (2019). Healthcare interprofessional team members’ perspectives on human caring: A directed content analysis study. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 6(1), 17-23.