Prevention Of Falls Among Older Patients Paper
The problem of falls among older patients is one of the most important issues in the contemporary health care setting because patients at the old age face the high risk of falls, while effects of falls are extremely dangerous for the older population. In such a situation, the elaboration of effective strategies aiming at the prevention of falls among older patients is essential for the maintenance of health of patients and the improvement of the quality of services delivered by the nursing staff to older patients. The project reveals the fact that there are multiple causes of falls among older patients, which may be divided into two groups: external and internal factors that cause falls among older patients. External factors include the health care facilities and environment, including poor lighting, slippery falls and other factors. Internal factors raise the high risk of falls among the older population include the physical condition of patients, history of falls, and other factors that affect the older population. The current project focuses on the elaboration of recommendations that can help to improve the quality of nursing care and prevent the risk of falls among older patients. In this regard, the core of the strategy of falls prevention among older patients is the creation of comfortable health care environment, close work with patients and the implementation of the falls prevention plan, which involves the communication of the plan to patients and their family members. At the same time, the project suggests the detailed evaluation of the proposed strategy to assess its effectiveness and, in case of the high effectiveness of the strategy, introduce it en mass.Prevention Of Falls Among Older Patients Paper
Today, the problem of falls among older patients is one of the most important issues in the contemporary health care setting because patients at the old age face the high risk of falls, while effects of falls are extremely dangerous for the older population. In such a situation, the elaboration of effective strategies aiming at the prevention of falls among older patients is essential for the maintenance of health of patients and the improvement of the quality of services delivered by the nursing staff to older patients. At the moment,
Existing studies () reveal the fact that older patients are vulnerable to the high risk of falls, especially patients with falls history. The awareness of nurses of the risk of falls among older patients is particularly important because nurses work closely with clients and spend more time with patients than other health care professionals. The involvement of nurses in the provision of nursing care implies their responsibility for the prevention of falls among older patients. They should be aware of risks, which their patients face and, thus, they can help to prevent falls among their patients. Current studies () reveal the considerable, negative impact of falls on the health of patients because older patients are more vulnerable to the risk of fractures and severe injuries caused by falls, including morbidity and mortality of patients.Prevention Of Falls Among Older Patients Paper
The project reveals the fact that there are multiple causes of falls among older patients, which may be divided into two groups: external and internal factors that cause falls among older patients. External factors include the health care facilities and environment, including poor lighting, slippery falls and other factors. The poor health care setting increases the risk of falls but, at this point, the high risk emerges, when nurses are unaware of the risk of falls among older patients and their consequences. For example, a slippery floor can be a cause of falls among patients and it is within the scope of nurses’ responsibility to minimize such risks and prevent threats of falls. However, many researchers () insist that nurses often remain unaware of or underestimate the risk of falls among older patients.
Internal factors raise the high risk of falls among the older population include the physical condition of patients, history of falls, and other factors that affect the older population. Internal factors can have a considerable impact on older patients and increase the risk of falls among older patients. For example, many patients suffer from visual impairment and other health problems that increase the risk of falls. In such a way, the risk of falls is driven by the physical condition of patients. Moreover, many patients suffer from the lack of awareness of the risk of falls, as is the case of many nurses. In such a way, the elimination of internal factors that cause falls among patients will help to decrease the risk of falls.Prevention Of Falls Among Older Patients Paper
The core of the strategy of falls prevention among older patients is the creation of comfortable health care environment, close work with patients and the implementation of the falls prevention plan, which involves the communication of the plan to patients and their family members. The prevention of the risk of falls through the increase of awareness of patients and communication of the importance of falls prevention is an essential element of the fall prevention strategy. The prevention of falls among older patients involves the awareness of key stakeholders of the risk of falls that means that health care professionals and nurses are not the only stakeholders, who should be aware of the risk of falls, but also patients and their family members. The support of family members is very important for older patients because they are not always under the supervision of health care professionals. This is why their family members should also be aware of the risk of falls and know how to prevent falls among older patients not only in the health care environment but also and mainly at home, where patients cannot always count on the support of nurses. The proposed strategy involves the communication of falls prevention plan to patients and their family members, while nurses should make the proposed strategy a part of their regular, professional performance.
At the same time, the project suggests the detailed evaluation of the proposed strategy to assess its effectiveness and, in case of the high effectiveness of the strategy, introduce it en mass. The evaluation of the proposed strategy is essential to determine whether the strategy is effective or not. Therefore, the effective implementation of the strategy opens the way to the further implementation of the strategy in the contemporary health care setting. On the other hand, the failure or drawbacks of the proposed strategy imply that the strategy needs changes.Prevention Of Falls Among Older Patients Paper
References:
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Rubestein, L. Z. (2006). Falls in older people: epidemiology, risk factors and strategies from prevention. Age Ageing 35(suppl.2), 37-41. doi. 10:1093/ageing/afl1084
Stiwell, S., B., Fineout- Overhout, E., Melynk, B. M. (2010). Evidence based-practice, step by step: Asking the clinical question. A step on evidence based practice. American Journal of Nursing 110(3), 58-61.
Tinetti, M.E. (2003). “Clinical practice. Preventing falls in elderly persons,” N Engl J Med, 348, 45.Prevention Of Falls Among Older Patients Paper