Elsevier

Geriatric Nursing

Volume 34, Issue 3, May–June 2013, Pages 241-246
Geriatric Nursing

Department
NGNA Section
Pilot testing of the function focused care intervention on an acute care trauma unit

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2013.02.001Get rights and content

Abstract

The purpose of this pilot study was to test the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of Function Focused Care for Acute Care (FFC-AC) on acute care trauma nurses. A single group pre/post repeated measure design was used with measurements completed at baseline, 3 and 9 months post implementation of the intervention. FFC-AC was implemented by a function focused care nurse champion and includes 3 components: (I) Environmental and Policy Assessments; (II) Education; and (III) Mentoring and Motivating. The nurses were willing to participate in the study and attend educational sessions. There was evidence that exposure to FFC-AC strengthened beliefs in the benefits of providing this type of care increased the amount of function focused care that nurses provided to patients.

Section snippets

Background

Trauma is the fifth leading cause of death in the geriatric population. One-third of trauma related hospital expenses are utilized treating the older adult.1 Trauma encompasses any event that compromises the physical integrity of the body. This can include injuries from falls, automobiles, stabbings, etc. Older adults are leading more active lives, thus increasing their risk for injury. It is anticipated that by 2050 at least 40% of all trauma patients in the United States will be over the age

Design

This study was approved by a hospital based institutional review board. A single group repeated measures design was used to test the feasibility and impact of implementing FFC-AC on nurses knowledge about FFC, beliefs in their ability to provide this care, their beliefs in the benefits or risks associated with FFC and objective changes in the way in which they provided care to patients. Nurses were recruited from an acute care trauma unit in a 510 bed academic, tertiary care hospital in a

Results

The mean age of nursing participants was 35.96 (SD = 12.53) years old with a range of 23–63. The majority of the sample was comprised of registered nurses with only one nurse being a licensed practical nurse. Among the initially sampled nurses, ten were diploma school graduates, five had associate degrees, 16 had baccalaureate degrees, and one had a graduate degree. On average the nurses had 7.45 years of nursing (SD = 10.43). The mean baseline self-efficacy for FFC was 6.45 (SD = 1.30, range

Discussion

This small feasibility study provided some support for implementation of a function focused care intervention on an acute trauma unit. Overall, we believe the unit culture was influenced to create a more function-friendly environment. Nurses were interested and willing to participate in the study, and attended the educational sessions. They incorporated new knowledge into direct patient care, as demonstrated by the increase in the number of care interactions in which function focused care

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