NURS 500 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY Research Proposal Research Question 2025.docx

Research Proposal: Research Question

Crystal McGhee, BSN RN

Liberty University

NURS500: Research (B02)

Dr. Shelley Blackwood

September 8, 2024

For years, we, as healthcare professionals, have had to deal with the negative impacts of

falls in the hospital setting. Some of these falls, especially in the elderly population, can have

detrimental effects on the patient’s health and healing process. Each year around 282,000 patient

falls are reported to the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) and it only takes one fall to

negatively affect a patient for the rest of their life (Patient-falls-prevention, 2024). A patient

falling has a wide-ranging impact – those affecting the individual patient, staff and the

organization more widely. For the patient, potential consequences include physical injury,

For staff members, they may feel responsible for the incident, lose confidence in their abilities

and it may impact on the trusting relationship between them and their patients.

Falls in the healthcare setting can lead to an increase in patient fear and a decrease in the

level of trust that they have with their medical professionals. After experiencing a fall, patients

may be reluctant to get up out of bed anymore even with assistance, thus decreasing their level of

mobility and increasing the risk of pressure injuries. Patients are already in fear coming into the

hospital because they may not fully understand what is going on with them or if they will make it

out or not, so it is our duty to help keep them safe and prevent any unnecessary injuries.

I have worked in the medical-surgical unit at my hospital for the past 7.5 years. Most of

the patients that I encounter are at least 65 years old and older. Some of these elderly patients are

prevent health issues, multiple drugs can sometimes be harmful. Inappropriate polypharmacy is

when you take too many medications and leading to unsafe side effects. Polypharmacy is more

common within the elderly population and those who have multiple chronic medical conditions.

The reason for this is because these patients typically see multiple healthcare providers such as

their primary care provider along with a specialist such as a neurologist, endocrinologist,

hematologist, gastroenterologist etc. According to a study performed by the American Geriatrics

Chron’s disease is one of the medical conditions that results in a high prevalence of

polypharmacy. According to an article from ProQuest, a study was conducted with patients

diagnosed with Chron’s disease, and polypharmacy was identified in 261 out of 291 patients

(90%), minor polypharmacy in 116 patients (40%), and major polypharmacy in 145 patients

(50%) (ProQuest, 2003). Sometimes when patients have multiple care providers, they may end

up taking more medications than necessary due to miscommunication between all the providers

providing care for the patient.

pharmacists are uniquely qualified to address polypharmacy and to make interventions to de-

prescribe inappropriate or unnecessary medications (Omopariola, 2022).

The research design that best supports my research question would be a

quasiexperimental quantitative study. This study aims to examine the effect of an intervention on

an outcome and consists of conceptualizing a research project, planning, and implementing that

project along with communicating its findings (Gray & Grove, 2021). By reducing the number of

medications patients receive down to those that are only medically necessary, we will be able to

determine the effect it has on fall rates amongst the elderly patient population. Quantitative

studies consist of steps such as theory, hypothesis, research design, data collection, data analysis,

and present results (Sreekumar, 2024).

My targeted population for this experiment would be patients that are at least 65 years of

possible, but most importantly within the elderly population. Reducing unnecessary medications

can help improve confusion, balance, coordination, and blood pressure amongst elderly patients,

thus decreasing their risk of falling. My grandparents are getting up there in age, and I would

want every action taken to help prevent them from falling and possibly obtaining an injury that

could decrease their level of independence or permanently alter their quality of life from here on

out. Neither one of them is medically inclined, as are many other patients coming into the

hospital, and they tend to take all medications prescribed to them without question. Due to this

lack of understanding, they depend on us as healthcare professionals to be their advocate and

look out for their safety the best that we can.

Gray, J., & Grove, S. K. (2021). Burns & Grove’s the practice of nursing research: Appraisal,

HealthHub. (2022, November 15). ABCS_OF_FALLS.

Omopariola, D. (2022, April 14). The pharmacist’s role in reducing inappropriate polypharmacy

Patient-falls-prevention (2024, August 24). The prevention and management of patient falls.

ProQuest. Better Research, Better Learning, better insights. (2003, September).