The Health Impacts And Costs Of Falling On Older Adults

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 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.

Falls are the leading cause of emergency room visits and unintentional death in Americans 65+ years old. (Centers For Disease Control & Prevention)

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

In Australia the hospitalisation of more than 80% older people aged 65 or over is due to fall or its related injuries (ACSQHC 2012, p. 6). According to the data presented by AIHW, in year 2011-12, 96,385 elder people aged 65 and over were hospitalised due to falls related injuries, among these 65,965 were elderly women, which is the highest fall rate in comparison to men (AIHW 2016). Similarly, approximately 40% of people with clinical problems such as stroke had fall during admission in sub acute or

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

The paper will discuss falls prevention in the older adult over the age of 55 and new and alternative interventions for fall prevention compared to current practice. The desired outcome of the paper is to provide information for fall prevention and, therefore, decrease the occurrence of falls. First, in order to understand the importance falls have within the clinical setting, statistics showing the mortality, morbidity and financial impact should be understood. The occurrence of falls within the acute care setting is a growing problem among the elderly. The evidence shows that one in three people aged 65 or older will sustain a fall and that only half will report the fall to a caregiver (CDC, 2014). The number increases to one in two when the patient reaches the age of 80. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) defines a fall when a person unintentionally comes to rest on the ground or another lower level. Falls are not an inevitable part of aging, however, aging does influence such things as reduced mobility, comorbidities, and cognitive impairment which contribute to fall risk. Falls are one of the leading causes of injuries in the acute care setting. The injuries sustained from falls leads to increased hospital stay time and a chance for further injuries which may harm the patient (CDC, 2014). According to the CDC in 2013, 2.5 million people suffered a fall, of these falls 734,000 were hospitalized. The falls also resulted in 22,900 people dying from fall

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

In the absence of evidence to support a population-based approach to prevention and the imperative to deliver cost-effective and efficient services, health care providers need risk assessment tools that reliably identify at-risk populations and guide intervention by highlighting remediable risk factors for falls and fall-related injuries. Such tools typically consist of a rating or scoring system designed to reflect the cumulative effect of known risk factors for the purpose of identifying those at greatest risk for sustaining a fall or fall-related injury [*]. Historically, fall risk tools have focused on institutional settings with little attention to tools tested in community settings. Of the reviews that do include community dwelling seniors, tools are typically limited to the assessment of balance with little consideration of other risk factors [*].

Many people believe that falling is a normal part of the aging process and that if a person lives long enough they will eventually suffer a fall. It is true that some of the physiological changes that occur in every older adult as a normal part of the aging process do increase an older adult’s risk of falling. However, a fall does not need to be the end result in each of these situations. There are certain activities and strategies that can be undertaken by the nurse in health care settings in order to lower the risk of these falls occurring. It is especially important for nurses in health care facilities to assess older clients for their fall risks and then to plan and implement strategies and activities that will lower those risks.

When individual ages it is inevitable, however falls can be avoidable when taking the correct precautions and safety modifications in ones home. Over the past few decades the lifespan of older individuals have increased. Nursing homes or assisted living facilities have been the answer for people who are less independent. However, some older adults remain in their homes and become the targets of falling. Falls are one of the leading causes of death in older adults 65 and older. Older individuals who experience falling are at risk for serious injuries or fatality. A falls prevention program is necessary to be idealistic for older individuals to prevent, reduce, and eliminate the number of falls so a person can experience a healthy

Summary: Falls and related injuries are a major concern among elderly people. In Finland, more than 1000 elderly people die due to a fall-related injury every year, which is four times more than the people died in traffic accidents. Fall prevention is necessary for older people since falls are main risk factors for fractures and other correctable injuries. Falls clinics use guidelines of multifactoral fall prevention interventions to assess and implement elderly people of fall prevention. The study was conducted at the Chaos Clinic located in the city of Tampere,

Older adults like F.P. are exposed to conditions more often that could lead to a fall as compared to the younger individuals. There are several conditions that the 85-year-old F.P. is exposed to, and which could result in him experiencing a fall. The hearing, reflexes as well as the eyesight could be inefficient at this age, and this could increase his chances of falling. F.P. is also diabetic and suffers from a cardiopulmonary disease, asthma, and hypertension. These health conditions also elevate the possibility of a fall in the older adult. Some medicines used by the older adults also make them feel dizzy and hence could lead to a fall in these persons (Ambrose, Paul & Hausdorff, 2013). Other personal conditions include problems with