2 Developing a PICOT Question Author’s Name Institutional Affiliation Course Code and

2

Developing a PICOT Question

Author’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Course Code and Name

Instructor’s Name

Due Date

Developing a PICOT Question

PICOT Question: In elderly hospitalized patients (P), what is the effect of implementing a tailored fall prevention program involving personalized exercise and mobility plans (I) compared to standard fall prevention measures (C) on the incidence of falls (O) over 3 months (T)?

Description of Each Part of the PICOT Question

Population (P): Elderly hospitalized patients, specifically those aged 65 and older, admitted to a general medical-surgical unit. This group is especially prone to falls because of various age-related factors. These factors include vision impairments, reduced muscle strength, vision impairment, and the presence of multiple comorbidities like arthritis, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular illnesses. These patients often require additional care and monitoring to prevent falls (Ganz & Latham, 2020).

Intervention (I): The intervention involves implementing a tailored fall prevention program. This program includes personalized exercise and mobility plans designed by physical therapists, regular assessments of fall risk, and staff training on individual patient needs (Dykes et al., 2020).

Comparison (C): The comparison group will follow the standard fall prevention protocols, which typically include basic measures such as placing call buttons within reach, ensuring proper footwear, and routine environmental safety checks (Ganz & Latham, 2020).

Outcome (O): The primary outcome is the incidence of falls among elderly hospitalized patients. This will be measured by the number of falls reported during the intervention period in comparison to the timeframe prior to the implementation of the tailored fall prevention program (Dykes et al., 2020).

Time (T): The timeframe for this intervention and comparison is 3 months. This duration is chosen to allow sufficient time to implement the program, conduct regular assessments, and collect data to evaluate the effectiveness of the tailored intervention (Dykes et al., 2020).

References

Dykes, P. C., Burns, Z., Adelman, J., Benneyan, J., Bogaisky, M., Carter, E., … & Bates, D. W. (2020). Evaluation of a patient-centered fall-prevention tool kit to reduce falls and injuries: a nonrandomized controlled trial. JAMA network open, 3(11), e2025889-e2025889.

Ganz, D. A., & Latham, N. K. (2020). Prevention of falls in community-dwelling older adults. New England journal of medicine, 382(8), 734-743.