This article is a review of various studies done to test interventions to reduce the occurrence of falls in the elderly. Prevention of falls is the goal to reduce the increasing amount of fractures in adults over the age of 50. Risk factors for falls include age, being female, cognitive impairments, medical factors such as diagnosis, use of certain medications, environmental factors, and other physical impairments. These studies use fall prevention strategies to test effectiveness at reducing falls. Hypothesis Fall preventive interventions can reduce the frequency of falls in the elderly population. To reduce falls physical training programs, such as balance and strength training, were tested. Also, various medications such as vitamin
Method: The study question investigated was; what impact will individualized fall-prevention education, supported by training and feedback for staff reduce have on the number of falls during hospital stays? The study was a pragmatic study of patients admitted to one of 8 rehabilitation units in general hospitals that were over sixty years old, with a projected hospital stay of at least three days, and had basic cognitive functioning. 3,606 patients admitted were admitted to the eight units during the study period, with 1,983 in the control group and 1623 in the intervention group. The pragmatic nature of the study is a strength given the nature of the intervention. However, the investigators do not explain the logic of limiting the study to patients over age 60, with a length of stay of at least three days, and this restricts the extrapolation of the results to these groups.
The goal for this study is to create a safe environment that will decrease injuries related to falls and increase independence and well-being of the elderly population. The mission of this study is to provide education to the nursing staff, residents, and families, increase the knowledge base of the interdisciplinary team, and to develop a sustainable program for the Lutheran Senior Service organization. I seek to better understand and identify causes of falls and develop effective interventions at individual and systems level. The organization and I believe that each resident should have the opportunity to live their life to the fullest, and providing a safe environment allows residents to live as independently as
Falls among any individual can cause significant trauma, often leading to an increase in mortality. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012), one in every three adults over the age of 65 falls each year. Long-term care facilities account for many of these falls, with an average of 1.5 falls occurring per nursing home bed annually (Vu, Weintraub, & Rubenstein, 2004). In 2001, the American Geriatric Society, British Geriatric Society, and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Panel on Falls Prevention published specific guidelines to prevent falls in long-term
Falling is a common cause of the health problem, leading to injury, hospitalization, institutionalization, and even mortality in community-dwelling older adults (1, 2). It is estimated that 30–40% of older adults experience at least 1 fall a year. This amounts to direct costs of 0.1% and 1.5%, respectively, of the total healthcare expenditures of the United States and European countries (3). Over the past few decades, a number of risk factors of falling have been identified (e.g., mobility, mental status, vision, hearing, blood pressure, hip weakness, medications, and balance control) (4-6). Prospective study also finds previous fall experience as a significant predictor of future falls (7). It is therefore important to obtain a good understanding of risk factors for falls to enable identification of targets for intervention and prevention.
It is a fact that senior citizens are aging, and living longer, but, are they living a prolific, relevant life? According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (n.d, para. 1), one out of every three older people falls each year and the direct medical costs for fall injuries are $34 billion annually. It is evident as one search through several governmental websites, that there is not enough of information for the different types of balance screenings for fall-prevention. As Americans, our priority is to preserve health and provide a meaningful life
In USA, one in three adults over age 65 suffer fall while 20% to 30% experience moderate to severe injuries (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). In 2010, the cost of falls among elderly people for US health care system was over $30 billion (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). Over the last few decades the rate of fall related deaths in USA has sharply been escalating. Many older adults have developed the fear of falling, limiting their social activity and forcing them to live in fear. Some adults suffer lacerations, fracture and trauma during fall, deteriorating their quality of life.
The widespread falls among the geriatric population reduce their quality of life and take away their functional independence. Lee et al (2013) state that falls leads to the rise in mortality rates and morbidity complications such as fractures and disabilities,1 out of 3 elderly persons in a community setting falls in a year. About 87% of all fractures in the elderly are due to falls. Several of the risk factors that are associated with falls are visual impairments, cognitive impairments, and health-related problems: arthritis, orthostatic, back pains, lack of balance-weakening muscles, previous falls, polypharmacy or psychoactive drugs (Lee et al, 2013).
Therefore, one could understand the importance of fall prevention among the elderly population in both the institutional and home settings. The following will discuss best practices to assist in the prevention of falls and geriatric syndromes.
Cronos, by Guillermo del Toro, is a Mexican film about the lengths in which one would go to be granted immortality. Throughout the film, there are many nods to religion: the main character’s name is Jesus, there is a side character that wears a cross, and a significant portion of the film is set during Christmas. These homages to religion (Christianity in particular) could be emphasizing how religion is a major part of Mexican society. There is also a scene, near the beginning of the film, that shows the streets of the town where the movie is set. What is noticeable about this scene is that del Toro does not show a pristine street, but a messy street.
Several national and global campaigns already exist that provide tips and resources for fall prevention. However, statistics continue to demonstrate that falls continue to remain a serious problem in the elderly community. No one can argue that education is the best defense against falls. Nor can they argue that national efforts are not needed. Despite these national campaigns, falls
Medical expenses in United States are increasing at an enormous pace. One of the highest expenditure of its expenses is used toward the care of elderly US senior citizens. Elderly people are vulnerable to many diseases, but one of the incidents that the elderly people are prone to is fall. As a person grows older, chances of fall increases. Elderly person have weaker bones, and a damages caused by a fall can have a huge impact on an elderly person’s health. Falls are the leading cause of injury related visit to emergency department and primary etiology of accidental deaths among elderly people. Emergency department visits related to falls are more common in children less than five years of age and adults 65 years of age and older. Compared
I am going to focus on a particular and an effective intervention for fall prevention in aged care facilities, which is medication review. According to Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (2009, p. 72), almost all of residents in aged care facilities are prescribed one medication and more than 60% of residents are prescribed 4 or more medications, 47% taking psychoactive drugs regularly, 11% taking sedatives regularly and 21% taking antidepressants regularly. Polypharmacy is highly common in aged care facilities in this country and has been proven as one of the main factors for falls (Baranzini et al. 2009, p. 228). Certain types of medications are strongly associated with the negative outcomes, such as diuretics, antiarrhythmics,
The Prevention and Public Health Fund’s Fall Prevention Program aims to implement programs that have been proven to reduce the incidence of falls in older adults and adults with disabilities. It also promotes the importance of fall prevention strategies and provides education on the risk of falls and how to prevent them (U.S Department of Health
The following research question was addressed: What is the effect of falls in the older adults while hospitalized? CINAHL Complete and Google scholar databases were used to search for relevant quantitative research articles. CINAHL Complete was searched using words like “falls in older adults while inpatient”, “impact of falls in older adults while hospitalized”, falls in older adults”, “and falls in the hospital amongst older adults“, ” fall impact in older adults while hospitalized”. Google scholar databases was searched using keywords such as “impact of falls in hospitalized older adults”, “Fall in the older adults during hospitalization”, “effects of fall on older adults while hospitalized”. Quantitative research article published in English, where any author is a nurse, and adult subjects were analyzed; dates of publications for all articles were limited to the years between 2011–2016. The University of Texas at Arlington’s library site titled finding quantitative and qualitative research was used to evaluate the qualities of the research article to ensure quantitative articles were utilized. Research articles that were utilized were those that involve interventions focused on effects of falls in the older adults population while hospitalized. Multifactorial fall prevention programs, environmental, educational
During the years before the implementation of the One Child Policy, the leaders of China were involved in wars, a great leap forward, and an industrial revolution. In the last twenty five years China’s One Child Policy has affected the country in every way one can imagine. This paper will attempt to explore the major ways the policy has affected the people of China socially, and how the economy has reacted with the change. A brief history on the traditional views of Chinese families, before the policy’s implementation, is outlined ahead of the policy’s background. This is to illustrate