Improving Hospital Safety Culture for Falls Prevention Through Interdisciplinary Health Education

Background. Falls are a serious public health problem, with an estimated 37.3 million falls a year requiring medical assistance. Improving hospital culture to address safety and falls prevention is a major organizational challenge that requires interdisciplinary teams and evidence-based education to change individual behaviors and improve outcomes. Methods. We collaborated with an interdisciplinary team of health practitioners at a critical access hospital to develop a health education program tailored to their internal assessment of falls and safety issues. The resulting program used the Five As behavior change model and evidence-based health education. Education session activities and posttests were used to measure participant outcomes, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture was distributed hospital-wide to measure patient safety culture pre- and postintervention. Results. Participants reported increased knowledge, attitudes, and motivations with attendance at education sessions. The AHRQ Hospital Survey showed positive improvements in 10 of the 11 composite categories, 4 of which were statistically significant. Conclusion. The use of the Five As, along with an interdisciplinary health education approach, can improve individual hospital employee falls prevention knowledge, attitudes, and motivations. That individual-level change can improve patient safety culture at the organizational level.