While participating on a QI team, the nurse asked to create an operational definition for falls. Several team members offer ideas:

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A “fall” is defined as the number of patients who fall and for which an incident report is completed. The patient safety officer will collect the aggregate data and report it to the unit practice council annually using a control chart. Major injuries will require a root cause analysis (RCA).

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A “fall” is defined as the number of patients admitted to the unit who fall and who suffer no injuries, whether minor (e.g., a laceration), or major (e.g., fractured hip). All such incidents will be reported using electronic incident reporting procedures per policy 101-5.

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A “fall” is defined as any patient who falls that results in no injury, a fall that results in a minor injury (laceration) or a fall that results in a major injury (fractured hip). All such incidents will be reported using electronic incident reporting procedures per policy 101-5. The fall numerator is the number of falls and the fall denominator is the total number of patients on the unit during the measurement time period.
1.
Of the three options, what operational definition is most comprehensive? Explain why you selected that option.
2.
One of the team members is not sure why an operational definition is necessary. How would you respond?