The population target helps narrow the scope of the project. In 150 words or less, describe the population of interest including its functional and problem-solving capabilities.

The population of interest is elderly patients who are susceptible to falls because of various reasons or problems. For instance, elderly people who are 65 years and above are susceptible to falls due to the fragility of their body status, aging that entails using more medications than normal due to age-related conditions like schizophrenia. Aging leads to cognitive impairment and conditions like diabetes or problems with the thyroid, nerves, feet, and blood vessels can impact balance leading to falling. Age-related loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia) and problems with balance and gait as well as blood pressure that drops too much increase the risk of falling. Therefore, this population faces increased risk factors for falling and requires effective interventions to reduce and prevent their susceptibility to falls, especially in inpatient settings. Reducing the risk of falling ensures that this population enjoys better health and improves their well-being since they are not susceptible to adverse events like head fractures and other devastating injuries to their body.

The proposed nursing intervention is purposeful hourly rounding where nurses ensure that the patient is closely monitored to prevent any chances of falling. Existing evidence shows that purposeful hourly rounding reduces and prevents falls among elderly patients. In their study, Gliner et al. (2022) demonstrate that nurse hourly rounding in acute settings can lead to better patient experience and outcomes, including reduced falls. The article notes that when nurses conduct hourly rounding, they will likely identify patients at increased risk for falls and rectify such situations. Again, hourly rounding ensures that nurses have sufficient data on patients and their progress, especially on activities of daily living like bathing and toileting. Additionally, the intervention ensures effective communication between nurses, patients, their families, and colleagues (Khawaja et al., 2023). As a nursing intervention, purposeful hourly rounding ensures that nurses closely monitor patients’ movements and their gait while in the facility to reduce the chances of falling.