Patient Falls Prevention

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

Problem: Patient falls have long been a common and serious problem in hospitals across the nation, causing

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).

Each year, one out of three elderly people fall (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015). The CDC (2015) also reports that once an individual has fallen, the chance that they will fall again doubles. Falls also contribute to an increase in direct medical costs. The CDC (2015) states, “Direct medical costs for fall injuries are thirty-four billion dollars annually. Hospital costs account for two-thirds of the total.” The amount of elderly people who fall each year along with the economic costs that result from falls indicates that preventing patient falls remains an important goal for healthcare workers including nurses. Nurses can use the nursing process—assessment, diagnosis, planning, intervention, and evaluation—to prevent patient falls and meet the fall prevention standards set by various regulating bodies.

Falls are a common and complex geriatric syndrome that cause considerable mortality, morbidity, reduced functioning, and premature nursing home admissions. Falls have multiple precipitating causes and predisposing risk factors, which make their diagnosis, treatment, and prevention a difficult clinical challenge. Identifying effective interventions to prevent falls and fall-related injuries among older adults is a major area of research and policy development in geriatrics. Several published clinical guidelines review the evidence for fall prevention strategies and provide recommendations for assessment and intervention (Rubenstein & Josephson, 2006).

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.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2016) press release one of the leading cause of accidental deaths of the elderly is falls. This is an issue for our seniors many long-term care (LTC) facilities across the nation. However, one of our primary goals in health care is patient safety. Although, no one can guarantee a patient will never fall, it is our job to maintain a safe environment, prevent falls and injuries. The families of our elders move them into a nursing facility expecting an accident free, uneventful stay for the remainder of their loved ones days. In some cases, frequent calls at various hours of the day to report adverse event which are often falls becomes the reality.

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

Your presentation was clear and the format was sleek which made the information easy to read and follow. You did a great job at listing the factors that attribute to falls, and your graph of the times that falls most often occur was a great addition. Communication tools to indicate fall risk for staff is a widely implemented model. At my facility we use signs, fall risk bracelets, and yellow gowns to indicate patients at risk for falls. A patient care plan should including current and accurate fall risk status with associated tailored and feasible interventions readily identifiable and accessible to staff (Dykes, Carroll, Hurley, Benoit, & Middleton, 2009). The entire healthcare team, the patient, and families should be made aware of the potential

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

Falls are very common among nursing home residents. Residents in nursing homes are more likely to fall due to their age, chronic health conditions, medication, or change in the environment after admission to the facility. The people who provide care every day in nursing homes know firsthand how critical falling can be to the health of the residents they care for. Fall prevention is critical in order to decrease falls in nursing homes. There are programs that are designed to help nursing home staff members identify the reason for resident fall. These programs give a preventive measure that assures accuracy and sensitivity of patients risk from falling. The Falls Management Program (FMP) is one of these programs.

Once a person becomes a patient in a hospital, he or she is there to receive treatment for that current condition. Although, that might not be the outcome for all patients because falls are within the top 10 unanticipated events in nursing (Kim, Huges& Fields, 2018). This means any patient in the hospital could fall and acquire a new medical condition during his or her stay. Once a patient falls that patient is now at risk for new injuries, and could possibly just added to the length of stay at the hospital. There are multiple reasons leading to patient falls in a hospital, and ways to prevent them should always be included with nursing care. Since falls happen for various reasons, there are four different categories, which are accidental,

Falling is inevitable at some point in life, and although most of the time falls are not serious, some can be life-threatening. Falls are a danger to both physical and psychological well-being because they may diminish a person’s ability to maintain an active and independent lifestyle.1 There are many factors that place individuals at risk for falls such as age, muscle weakness, difficulty with balance or walking, psychological diagnosis, and several medical conditions.1,2 Approximately one-third of people over the age of 65 fall at least once a year.3 Individuals that are status post stroke are at an increased risk of falls, making falls assessment and prevention a common priority for clinicians treating this population.1,2 Therefore, to direct the experimental methods and build on a basis of previous literature on this topic, the search began using OneSearch, CINAHL, PubMed, and

According to a study done in 2006, it was found that almost 2 million injuries were incurred by older adults though falls each year (Stevens, Corso, Finkelstein, & Miller, 2006). That amounts to approximately 5,480 falls-related injuries per day. Falls in the elderly population are such a serious problem that in 2002, the United States Senate Subcommittee on Aging held a hearing to talk about the effects of elderly falls in the community and potential legislation to mitigate those falls (Preventing Elder Falls, 2002). While some of these falls might result in minor or no injuries, many of them result in hospitalization and even death. In an age when artificial joints are becoming commonplace and the average lifespan of a human is increasing, a problem still remains with maintaining balance in the later years of life. A direct correlation can be made between advanced age and the loss of balance. Unfortunately, this loss of balance often causes falls that can lead to broken bones and even death. While research is being conducted to understand why such an extreme loss of balance occurs, no real solutions to completely prevent falls have been developed yet.