| Course | DNP 825 Health Information Management and Informatics |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 8 |
| Paper type | Informatics quality improvement proposal |
| Length | About 1,006 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | DNP |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for DNP 825 Module 8
Plans Patients Can See: A Proposal to Implement a Patient-Centered Electronic Fall Prevention Tool Kit
Student Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice Program, Aspen University
DNP 825: Health Information Management and Informatics
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Plans Patients Can See: A Proposal to Implement a Patient-Centered Electronic Fall Prevention Tool Kit
This proposal asks the hospital's nursing and informatics leadership to approve and fund the implementation of a patient-centered electronic fall prevention tool kit on six adult medical-surgical units. It brings together the course's work on data governance, decision-oriented design, decision support, data quality and security into one plan. The proposal states the problem, summarizes the evidence, describes the informatics build and workflow, sets out implementation, governance and measures, and gives costs and a timeline.
The Problem
Few hospital adverse events are as frequent as falls. In a large national sample of nursing units, the fall rate was 3.56 per 1,000 patient-days, and 26.1% of falls caused injury, with the highest rates on medical units, 4.03 falls and 1.08 injurious falls per 1,000 patient-days (Bouldin et al., 2013). The composite hospital's six medical-surgical units recorded 4.4 falls per 1,000 patient-days, 1.1 of them with injury, over the past year, above those benchmarks. Current prevention relies on a generic fall precautions order and a yellow wristband applied to most patients, which staff describe as meaning everyone and therefore no one.
Every fall with injury also triggers an event review, family communication and often an extended stay, which consume nursing and physician time that could be spent on care.
The Evidence
A randomized trial of a tool kit that turned nurses' fall risk assessments into individualized bedside posters, patient handouts and care plans reduced falls from 4.18 to 3.15 per 1,000 patient-days, especially among older patients, though it did not significantly reduce injuries (Dykes et al., 2010). A redesigned, patient-centered version, in which nurses review the plan with patients and families and ask them to take part in carrying it out, was associated with falls dropping by about a seventh and injurious falls by about a third across 14 units (Dykes et al., 2020). The evidence supports the patient-centered version, which targets injuries as well as falls.
The Informatics Build
The build uses data nurses already document. A validated fall risk score, medications with fall-related effects, mobility and elimination needs feed a rule set that selects interventions tailored to each patient's risk factors. From that rule set the record generates a poster for the wall by the bed, using simple pictures, a plain-language handout in English and Spanish, and care plan entries that appear on the nursing work list. Plans update automatically when inputs change, and a task prompts reprinting the poster. The design follows lessons from earlier modules: outputs are built around the decisions nurses and patients make, the rule set is reviewed by a clinical team rather than left to default vendor content, and prompts are limited to changes that require action, avoiding another source of alert fatigue.
Workflow and Training
Within four hours of admission, and each shift, the nurse completes the risk assessment, reviews the generated plan with the patient and family, confirms that the patient can state one or two personal prevention steps, and places the poster. Nursing assistants are trained to read the poster icons, since they provide most mobility assistance. Training consists of a 30-minute online module and a 15-minute unit demonstration, with super users on each shift for the first month.
Two workflow details matter. The poster prints at the unit printer nearest the room rather than a central printer, so nurses are not tempted to delay placing it, and the handout review is documented with a single checkbox that also records whether a family member took part. Early pilot feedback will be used to adjust both before the program spreads to the remaining units.
Governance, Data and Security
The chief nursing officer owns the fall prevention data set. A nurse informaticist stewards the rule set and data definitions, and information technology maintains the build. A small governance group reviews rule changes quarterly. Measures are those defined in the program's data plan: fall and injury-fall rates per 1,000 patient-days, timely assessment, current posters, patient engagement and restrictive practices, with event reports cross-checked against notes. Posters avoid diagnoses and medication names to protect privacy, and the build is included in downtime procedures, with a paper version of the tool kit available if the record is unavailable.
Costs and Timeline
Estimated first-year costs are about $64,000: $28,000 for informatics analyst and nurse informaticist build time, $22,000 for training time for about 180 nurses and assistants, $8,000 for printing and poster holders, and $6,000 for evaluation. If falls fall by 15% and injurious falls by about a third, as in the patient-centered evaluation, the hospital would expect about 20 fewer falls and 8 fewer injurious falls a year on these units. Avoided costs of injuries, extended stays and staff time would likely offset much of the program's cost, but the proposal rests primarily on patient safety.
The timeline is nine months: months one to three for build and testing, months four and five for training and a pilot on two units, and months six to nine for spread to the remaining four units and evaluation, with a report to the nursing quality council at month nine.
Risks and the Request
Risks include poster fatigue if plans are not updated, workload concerns, and incomplete data feeding the rules. The pilot, the weekly process audits and the super user model are designed to detect and address these early. The nursing and informatics leadership is asked to approve the build, fund the first-year costs, designate the two pilot units and endorse the governance structure, with a decision on sustained operation after the nine-month evaluation.
Conclusion
The hospital's fall rates exceed national benchmarks, and its current approach treats nearly every patient the same way. A patient-centered electronic tool kit, supported by randomized and multisite evidence, uses existing nursing data to produce individualized plans that patients and staff can see and act on. Built with attention to decisions, alert burden, data quality, governance and security, and implemented through a pilot with clear measures, it offers a practical path to fewer falls and fewer injuries.
References
Bouldin, E. L. D., Andresen, E. M., Dunton, N. E., Simon, M., Waters, T. M., Liu, M., Daniels, M. J., Mion, L. C., & Shorr, R. I. (2013). Falls among adult patients hospitalized in the United States: Prevalence and trends. Journal of Patient Safety, 9(1), 13-17. https://doi.org/10.1097/PTS.0b013e3182699b64
Dykes, P. C., Burns, Z., Adelman, J., Benneyan, J., Bogaisky, M., Carter, E., Ergai, A., Lindros, M. E., Lipsitz, S. R., Scanlan, M., Shaykevich, S., & 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), Article e2025889. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.25889
Dykes, P. C., Carroll, D. L., Hurley, A., Lipsitz, S., Benoit, A., Chang, F., Meltzer, S., Tsurikova, R., Zuyov, L., & Middleton, B. (2010). Fall prevention in acute care hospitals: A randomized trial. JAMA, 304(17), 1912-1918. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2010.1567
DNP 825 Module 8 instructions, in plain terms
The final DNP 825 prompt is posted inside the Aspen classroom, so this example follows the course description on health information systems and informatics tools used to plan and implement quality improvement programs. The final assignment typically wants one document that joins the problem, the evidence, the technology, the workflow, governance, costs and evaluation into one paper aimed at decision makers. Check whether your prompt requires an executive summary, a budget table, a timeline figure or a presentation. Many instructors also expect the proposal to grow out of earlier module papers. Page and source limits are in the assignment, along with any rule on whether appendices count.
Inside the DNP 825 Module 8 example
The example is about 1,005 words under eight headings. The problem section sets local fall rates against benchmarks. The evidence section compares the two versions of the tool kit and selects the one shown to reduce injuries. The informatics build describes what must be configured in the record and at the bedside. Workflow and training explain who does what and how staff learn it. Governance, data and security summarize the data plan and access rules. Costs and timeline itemize first-year costs and nine months of work. Risks and the request name what could go wrong and state the decision needed. The conclusion restates the case, so a reader who skips to the end still sees the request. Headings mirror the questions a hospital committee tends to ask, which makes the proposal easy to review in a meeting.
DNP 825 Module 8 rubric: what earns full marks
For a final proposal, the rubric will reward integration, feasibility and a clear request. This example earns integration points by connecting the evidence, the build, the workflow and the data plan, and the margin notes explain how the expected benefit is derived cautiously from trial results applied to local rates. Itemized costs and a timeline address feasibility. Governance and security address the ethical and legal criteria. A specific request meets the persuasion element many proposal rubrics include. Organization follows the order a committee would read. Format credit rests on citing the trials and benchmarks accurately and on correct formatting of any cost figures.
DNP 825 Module 8 help: mistakes that cost marks
Students often write proposals that describe the technology in detail and skip workflow, training and governance, which is where most informatics projects fail. Give each its own section. Another common mistake is promising savings without showing the math; derive expected benefit from evidence and local rates, and state it cautiously. Papers also leave out risks, such as alert fatigue or poster use dropping over time. Name them and the response. Some students forget the request itself, ending with a summary instead of a decision for leaders. Finally, check that the costs, timeline and measures match those in earlier modules, since final papers are often graded against your own earlier work.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
More DNP 825 and DNP sample papers
- DNP 825 Module 1: Data Governance for a Nursing Project
- DNP 825 Module 2: A Dashboard That Supports Decisions
- DNP 825 Module 3: Clinical Decision Support and Alert Fatigue
- DNP 825 Module 4: Interoperability and Health Information Exchange
- DNP 825 Module 5: Data Quality and Electronic Quality Measures
- DNP 825 Module 6: Privacy, Security and a Breach
- DNP 825 Module 7: Data Plan for an Informatics-Supported Program
- DNP870 Module 8: Advocacy Plan
- DNP 851A Module 4: Barriers and Small Tests of Change
- DNP 805 Module 7: Spreading a Unit Practice Across a System
- DNP 852B Module 5: A One-Page Executive Summary for Leaders
DNP 825 Module 8 questions, answered
What does DNP 825 Module 8 usually ask for?
Aspen's DNP 825 description builds toward planning and implementing informatics-supported quality programs, so a complete informatics-enabled quality improvement proposal is a typical final assignment. Check your classroom for the required sections.
What should an informatics proposal include beyond the technology?
Workflow, training, governance, data quality, privacy and security, measures, costs, a timeline and the specific decision requested of leaders.
Is there evidence that electronic fall prevention tools work?
A randomized trial found fewer falls with an electronic tool kit, and a later patient-centered version was associated with fewer falls and fewer injurious falls.
Where can I find a free DNP 825 Module 8 sample paper?
This page shows the informatics proposal for a patient-centered fall prevention tool kit in full, annotated from the first page to the last, and you do not pay to read it. Send your own prompt with the form if your project differs.
What should a DNP 825 Module 8 proposal include?
Include the problem with local data, the evidence, the technology build, workflow and training, governance and security, costs, a timeline, risks and a clear request. This example covers each in its own section so leaders can find what they need quickly.