Fall Reduction among Elderly Residents in Skilled Nursing Facility

Executive Summary Fall reduction among Elderly residents in skilled nursing facility Problem Falls among elderly or older adults is a serious issue in skilled nursing facilities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012), about 1800 residents living in nursing homes die annually from falls and fall-related injuries. Those who survive sustain injuries that might cause permanent disability. Some of the facilities use bed alarms as a preventive measure. Despite the use of these bed alarms, the fall rates in these skilled facilities still remains high. The problem statement describing this capstone project is: In (P) nursing staff in skilled nursing facility, (I) staff education and implementation of hourly rounds and use of bed alarm, (C) when compared to the use of bed alarm only (O) decrease in the incidence of falls? Purpose The purpose of this capstone project is to assess whether hourly rounding by staff and the use of bed alarm will decrease the incidence of falls in skilled nursing facility. Goal The goal of this project is to serve residents in the skilled nursing facility by providing an intervention rooted in evidence based practice aimed at decreasing the incidence of falls and promoting quality of life. Objectives The project objectives included: to reduce the fall rate by 50% in six months; to reduce the fall rate by 75% in one year; and to increase the supervision of residents by nursing staff. Plan This project utilized Zaccagnini and Whites (2011) Doctor of Nursing Practice Process Model. The project identified through a needs assessment and comprehensive literature review that despite the use of bed alarms in skilled nursing facilities, the rate of falls was still high. This information provided the framework which developed the goals and objectives, guided the theoretical foundation, and initiated specific plans for the work, evaluation, and implementation after Institutional Review Board approval was obtained from the facility and Regis University. Outcomes and Results The implementation of hourly rounding using the 4 P’s reduced the fall rate in the facility by 13.3% and the use of bed alarm by 9.5%. It was concluded that there was a decrease in the incidence of falls following the implementation of bed alarm and hourly rounding using the 4 P’s

Genetic conservation through effective utilization of the improved indigenous chicken breeds by rural households in Nigeria

SUMMARY. Our collection and genetic characterization of various indigenous chicken genotypes in Nigeria started in 1984 at the National Animal Production Research Institute, Shika, Zaria, (Shika Brown) in 1994 at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria (FUNAAB) and in 2014 in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (FULANI). Collections were screened and characterized for genetic improvement and effective utilization by rural households in Nigeria With the financial and technical support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the International Livestock Research Institute, Ethiopia, respectively, improved chicken genotypes were developed and evaluated alongside some other tropically adapted chicken breeds. A total of six improved tropically adapted chicken breeds (three Nigerian – Shika Brown, FUNAAB alpha and Fulani; three imported – Kuroiler, Sasso and Noiler) were tested for 52 weeks on-farm, across five agro-ecological zones of Nigeria and on-station in a public University farm and a private farm in Ogun and Oyo States, respectively. Results showed the Nigeria’s improved Indigenous chicken breed, the FUNAAB-Alpha, to be of comparable performance with the three imported breeds. It has met with high acceptance and demand after exhibition of the six breeds during the 2017 Science and Technology Expo in Abuja, Nigeria

Estimation of Heritability and Repeatability for Pre-Weaning and Post Weaning Litter Weights of Unselected Domestic Rabbits in South Eastern Nigeria

Abstract Data from one hundred and seventy eight (178) kittens generated from 21 does mated to 7 stud bucks resulting in 34 kindling were used to estimate the heritability due to sire and repeatability for birth, weaning and post weaning litter weight traits of unselected non-descript rabbits reared in FUTO teaching and research farm. Traits such as litter weight at birth (LWB), at weaning i.e. 21d (LWW), 42d (LW42), 56d (LW56) were studied. A repeatability single trait animal model was used to analyze the data Estimates of Sire heritability for LWB, LWW, LW42 and LW56 were 0.34±0.41, 0.79±0.632, 0.91±1.20 and 0.62±0.542 while repeatability estimate were 0.034±0.243, -0.130±0.197, 0.003±0.236 and 0.008±0.238 respectively. These estimates indicate a moderate to high heritability while the repeatability indicates generally low estimates. This implies that selection of this non-descript population of rabbits for LWW, LW42 and LW56 could be efficient in improving these traits in the population, while the repeatability of these traits being very low, suggests that the likelihood to repeat these records is low