Essay about Hospital Fall Prevention Programs

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).

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 test consists of different forms that can be filled out. The parent form, which consists of 232 question items. A teacher form, which consists of 193 question items, and an adult form consisting of 236 questions. The questions are answered based on a 4 point Likert type rating scale. You will score 0 for items that are “not able”, 1 on items that are “never”, 2 on items that reflect “sometimes”, and 3 on items that reflect “always”. This test takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes and should be administered in an interview question/answer form. Pattison & Oakland (2008) explained that significant limitations in adaptive

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

At Brigham and Woman Hospital, this fall prevention program has been instituted throughout the facility. The protocol requires all patients to be screened for fall risk factors upon their admission to the hospital. Upon admission, nurses must conduct a throughout medical assessment, and use the Morse Fall Scale to assess patients mobility, muscle strength, gait, vision of patients because those conditions can put patients at increase risk for falls. At the end of each assessment, a number is provided to each patient determining the degree of fall and documented in the patient chart. For example, a patient might be a low risk for fall while another might at high risk for fall. In addition, the nurse must create a plan of care and

Brittany Nix- This writer believes a key point or concern for health care professionals is how to keep the middle age group safe while maintaining privacy and independence. In comparing the first research to the current, data findings revealed the incidence of falls in middle-aged inpatients were similar to older inpatients. Far too often this writer feels the nursing profession stereotypes the older population while overlooking the risk in middle aged adults. This writer believes this research challenges nursing professionals to implement individualized fall prevention for patients, regardless of

The purpose of this research paper was to examine the latest research and evidence-based practices related to inpatient falls. Falls among the elderly within a hospital setting has increased within the last decade. Inpatient falls have become the second leading cause of death, causing longer hospital stays and indirect costs for the hospital. The research reviewed multiple studies, which discussed the causes of inpatient falls. A few causes included nurses and staff not knowledgeable of current hospital practices, lack of individualized plan of care, and lack of training related to falls. The findings assisted the writer to revise the current fall policy and procedure for Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC). A fall reduction program

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 highly common amongst the elderly, particularly those who lack mobility, are in hospital, or are living in a nursing home. When an elderly person falls, their activities of daily living may be impacted due to injuries sustained from the fall. It is essential that precautions are put in place to prevent falls in all settings. This essay will discuss the statistics surrounding falls, prevention strategies, and the impacts of a fall on a patient’s ability to complete activities of daily living.

Disability Rating Scale-This assessment provides quantitative information about the client 's recovery from TBI from coma to community (Powell, 2014). This test has eight items in four categories: arousal and awareness; cognitive ability to handle

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

During the clinical interview, the mental status examination (MSE), and the implementation of the WAIS-IV, Mr. Smithson gave accurate information. The patient struggled with some tasks throughout the WAIS-IV. He tried his best, despite the frustrations that he encountered. The entire assessment did not display a valid reflection of the patient’s functioning because of the significant scatter in index scores on the WAIS-IV. Malingering, faking good or faking bad, and lying were not present.

581-586, 2011). This addition of subtest and composite scores allows for an examination of strengths and weaknesses in individuals and when used in combination with other assessment instruments, like the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test Third Edition (WIAT-III), an individuals general cognitive ability as calculated by the WAIS-IV can be compared to additional more specific areas of functioning to distinguish unforeseen patterns of strengths or deficits (Climie & Rostad, pp. 581-586,