Fall Prevention Program for Elderly in DC

In a classic definition, falls are untoward events which result in the person coming to rest unintentionally on the ground or another lower surface (Bok, et al., 2015). Falls, can be a devastating source of morbidity and mortality for the older adult. According to a Center for Disease Control (CDC) Report, “Falls Among the Older Adult,” more than one third of adults aged 65 and older fall each year in the United States and falls are the leading cause of injury deaths. Falls are also the most common cause of nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions for trauma in the older adult population (CDC Report). Unfortunately, the rate of fall-related deaths

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported that more than one third of adults 65 and older fall each year. Half of the elderly people, who fall, do so repeatedly. Aside from the health problems related to falls, nearly $20 billion of direct medical costs are associated with fatal and non-fatal falls (Larson & Bergmann, 2008).

Most hospitalized patients of 65 years and above have been established to be more vulnerable to falling within their homes or in a facility. These falls have been attributed to various causative agents that need to be assessed and managed in an attempt to completely avert falls (Wilbert, 2010). Prevention of falls should be mandatory since they cause more danger to patients, including breakage of the main bones and even death. As a result, the patient may develop a more serious condition such as decrease functional immobility in addition to that which caused hospitalization. Most of these falls have been found to be caused by therapeutic impacts and ignored diagnostic information (Naqvi, Lee & Fields, 2009). For instance, a great number of elderly people who are hospitalized are diagnosed with dementia at the time of admission; hence, such information needs to be taken into consideration during the care of such a patient. Dementia is likely to cause disorientation and confusion which may result in recurrent falls. Therefore, falls may be described as the abrupt and unintended loss of uprightness that leads to body displacement towards the ground falls (Wilbert, 2010). The purpose of this paper is to develop a falls prevention, management program that will reduce the number of falls occurring within an organization.

Every year, about one third of everyone over the age of 65 falls, and do not report it to their doctors. Falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries in older people (Falls Among Older Adults). Falls become more common as people age because their bones become more brittle and their muscle mass decreases. In society today, the baby boomers are aging, which means falls will continue to increase in frequency. When a person falls, it doesn’t just affect the victim; it affects everyone. In 2012, approximately $30 billion went towards medical costs that were associated with falls (Falls Among Older Adults). To prevent more people being injured and more money being spent, there has to be a change.

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

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).

The incidence of fall-related injuries in the elderly U.S. population will continue to increase (Quigley, Neily, Watson, Wright, & Strobel, 2017).

Falls are considered a leading cause of mortality and injury among older adults and majority of the falls occurs while hospitalized. One would think being in the hospital would be one of the safest places for older adults as far as fall prevention is concern due to the fact that hospitals provide staffing around the clock for patients but more and more falls have been occurring in the hospital especially in the older adult population. Fall is an unintended descent to the ground. It raises public and family care liability; it also decreases patient’s functioning because it causes pain and suffering, and increases medical costs (Saverino et al, 2015). The Center for Disease Control

Falls are the leading cause of unintentional injuries in the elderly patients living in the long-term care setting. The aim of this project was to identify risk factors associated with increase falls among the elderly in order to prevent and monitor safety related events relating to falls. There are numerous risk factors associated with falls among the elderly, as the direct care nurse, working in the long-term care setting, we need to identify any possible factors that can contribute to falls, in order to prevent injury. Through evidence-based research and education we can help decrease the incidents of falls in our elderly community.

A fall is a lethal event that results from an amalgamation of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors which predispose an elderly person to the incident (Naqvi et al 2009). The frequency of hospital admission due to falls for older people in Australia, Canada, UK and Northern Ireland range from 1.6 to 3.0 per 10 000 population (WHO 2012). The prevalence of senior citizen’s falls in acute care settings varies widely and the danger of falling rises with escalating age or frailty. Falls of hospitalized older adults are one of the major patient safety issues in terms of morbidity, mortality, and decreased socialization

The purpose of the facilitated session is to provide caregivers, seniors and family members with the information needed to prevent the risk of falls at home. The learning outcome will show that participants are able to understand why and how to prevent senior falling at home. The learner will be able to comprehend the various resources and tool that will help in showing the steps that needed to project seniors risk of falls.

Fall among elderly population is a global public health problem which remains one of the leading cause of death and disability among older adults. Accidental fall occurs at least once a year among 30-40 percentage of general population over 65 and above. Ten to twenty five percentage of these fall can be resulted in substantial physical injuries. Quality of life can be affected after fall as a result of reduced physical activity and social interaction. During the last decade various intervention programs have been established to prevent or decrease the incidence of fall. Interventions such as exercise program, environmental and pharmaceutical interventions are beneficial in preventing fall among the elderly population (Tousignant, Corriveau,

The secondary analysis conducted by Neyens et al (2013) has shown that malnourishment does contribute to increased risk of falls in the elderly who reside in long term care facilities, but the study also noted that the more active a person is the more likely they are to experience a fall. For more in-depth study findings and statistics for the articles refer to the summary

Falls are a common cause of death for people over the age of 65. Following accidents, fall related mortality rate has relatively stayed constant over the last four decades. The dementia disorder continues to add an increase in fall-risk. Despite their knowledge

A major cause of hospitalization and morality in older people is the fear of falling or falling itself. Falling accounts for on average more than 2.5 million injuries treated in emergency rooms every year. Not to mention every 20 min an older adult dies from a fall, accounting for over 21,000 deaths in a year on average. This can get very costly; it is estimated to hit a high of $67.7 billion by the year 2020. Falling or the fear of falling not only leads to physical harm but also leads to mental distress in the elderly. The fear of falling can lead to things such as depression, anxiety, social isolation or even decreased physically activity that can later cause muscular dystrophy. Analysis of studies of the risk factors leading to fear of falling can help take preventative or precautionary measures for falling in older adults. Taking such measures aid in future high medical bills, mental distress, and increases chances of eliminating fear of falling much as possible.