Safety awareness and fall prevention in older adult
QUESTION
Write 700-word description of safety awareness and fall prevention in older adults. Include the following:
1-The problem or issue, intervention, quality initiative, educational need,
2-The setting or context in which the problem or issue, intervention, quality initiative, educational need, or collaborative interprofessional team project can be observed.
3-A description (providing a high level of detail) regarding the problem or issue, intervention, quality initiative, educational need.
4-Effect of the problem or issue, intervention, quality initiative, educational need.
5-Significance of the topic and its implications for nursing practice.
6-A proposed solution to the identified topic with an explanation of how it will affect nursing practice.
You are required to cite to a minimum of eight peer-reviewed sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the last 5 years, appropriate for the assignment criteria, and relevant to nursing practice.
Safety awareness and fall prevention in older adult
ANSWER
The fundamental role of health care professionals is in treating patients and safeguarding them from any danger during recovery. To ensure the safety of patients, various hospitals have laws that guarantee the safety of patients during the treatment process. For instance, the most common incident that exposes patients to danger in the USA is a fall of patients. It is estimated that annually, there are 700,000 cases of patient fall in hospitals. Further research indicates that more than 800,000 patients slip and fall annually; ironically, a third of these cases are preventable (El-Menyar et al.,2019). Patients’ fall is a public health concern in the USA, especially among senior citizens, with an estimated one out of four adults falling annually. According to Carron et al. (2017), a total of 300,000 senior citizens have been hospitalized annually in emergency and critical care conditions due to falls. This may be severe, ranging from bleeding, bruising, and even fractures. It is, therefore, incumbent upon healthcare providers and professionals to prioritize the safety of their patients to protect them against hazards.
Setting where the Problem is observed
Comorbidities and impairment can result from falls in the elderly. Falls are also the leading killers of older patients. Falls are linked to higher death rates, decreased functional levels, and increased morbidity. Elderly persons are more likely to fall if they do so regularly and sustain injuries. Several medical issues contribute to this. Elderly patients are more likely to collapse when left alone in their beds (LeLaurin & Shorr, 2019). The majority of patients usually fall off from bed or when strolling. ICU falls commonly involve seriously unwell patients. Records show that the majority of fall-related injuries occur to patients. The majority of elderly patients in hospitals fall. Most falls in hospitals occur among elderly patients. These are people in the patient section and among patients in critical care conditions, which happens mainly at night or in the evenings. LeLaurin &Shorr(2019) attribute this to the lack of assistance of elderly patients by medical personnel resulting in dysfunctions, death, and high morbidity in patients.
Description of Patient Falls
Patients’ fall is widespread in critical care hospitals, and the possibility is increased by factors such as surgery, unfamiliar environment, bed rests, and acute care medication such as tube use (Cullis et at.,2020). A single fall may have long-term consequences such as more falls, fear of falls, and reduced mobility. The core mission of medical personnel is the treatment of both the physical and mental capacities of patients to restore them to their normal status. Some ways of preventing patient falls include treating fall risk factors such as walking difficulties, disorientation, and side effects of medication. Attending several therapies can help reduce the problem of patient fall in the various hospitals.
Effects of Patient Fall on the Older Adults
It is almost impossible to imagine that there are no side effects of the fall patients since they are numerous, ranging from the possibility of future falls and bodily fractures and bruises. Additionally, among the older patients, osteoporosis and the wrist, hip, shoulder, and pelvis fractures are common medical complications(Cuevas-Trisan,2019).age is a critical variable linked to falls as the older generation tends to fall more often than the young. Moreover, gender plays a crucial role since women are more prone to fall than men, while race, on the other hand, favors people of African origin and Asians since they fall less compared to their European counterparts. Regular medication and taking off different drugs plus cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, and diabetes also increase the risk of falling Prabhakaran et al.,2020). a fall may also be caused by loss of strength in the limbs or lower limb impairment.
Proposed solutions
Some ways of reducing the risk of falls are identifying and eliminating the risk factors within the environment. The use of sitters for adult patients in the hospitals is equally of paramount significance(Fehlberg et al.,2017). Regular checking of patients at close intervals can also reduce patient falls, albeit with an increased workload on medics. Morris and O’Riordan,2017 reason that providing the patients with education could also go in handy in preventing their falls. This is because there is a significant reduction in the number of falls among educated patients, although this may not be effective among patients with mental challenges. Furthermore, the Provision of adequate light within the environment, visual cues, and unique rooms for high-risk patients may also reduce patient falls.
The first step is finding and removing fall hazards in older adults and their environment. The risks of patients are evaluated using a variety of prediction techniques. Methods for fall risk screening can be used to detect and stop patient falls. Some elderly adults have received help from sitters to prevent falls (Fehlberg et al., 2017). Sitters watch patients who might fall, but their utilization depends on the expertise and training of medical staff. Intentional rounding entails routinely ensuring the patient’s security. Although intentional rounding is helpful, it could increase workload and create competing objectives. Education is another strategy for preventing patient falls (Morris & O’Riordan, 2017). Education about patient fall prevention frequently lowers the number of falls. Patient education, therefore, contributes to the decline in falls. Patients with cognitive impairment could be more challenging to instruct. Making sure the patient environment has sufficient lighting and visual cues and designing particular rooms for patients who are more likely to fall are examples of environmental improvements.