Abstract
Background: A 66-bed memory care community in West Texas lacked formalized staff education connecting Alzheimer’s disease progression with fall risk and recorded persistently high monthly fall counts.
Methods: The Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice model and Plan–Do–Study–Act framework guided this quality improvement project. Education included 30-minute sessions, handouts, and posters. Voluntary assessments evaluated foundational knowledge and clinical synthesis. Analysis included five participants with matched assessments; monthly falls were a secondary outcome.
Results: Eleven preintervention and 11 postintervention assessments were completed; five participants had matched assessments. Among matched participants, mean foundational knowledge increased from 88.44% to 92.00%, a 3.56-percentage-point increase that met the 3percentage-point target but was not statistically significant (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p = .50). The clinical synthesis pass rate increased from 40% (2/5) to 60% (3/5), meeting the 20percentage-point target. Monthly falls declined from 45 in April to 25 in July.
Conclusions: Both knowledge targets were met. Small sample size, incomplete matching, an unvalidated assessment, and unavailable census-adjusted fall rates limited interpretation. The project did not establish that education reduced falls. Further evaluation should assess retained knowledge, practice changes, and resident outcomes.
Date of publication
Fall 11-13-2026
Document Type
DNP Scholarly Project
Language
english
Persistent identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/10950/5222
Committee members
Emily Fox
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Recommended Citation
Corbin, Terese D., "DNP Final Report: ENHANCING MEMORY CARE STAFF KNOWLEDGE OF FALL RISK IN RESIDENTS WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE: A QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT" (2026). DNP Final Reports. Paper 111.
http://hdl.handle.net/10950/5222