Effective Ways of Preventing Falls

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Review of Literature
Project Plan
Implementation
Evaluation
Recommendations/Implications for Practice
References

Introduction

Fall prevention refers to the application of copious measures in minimizing the number of accidental falls which elderly persons mostly suffer. Recent studies in health care have confirmed that falls and the associated injuries rank top the list of the most common and serious medical problems suffered by the aged and the aging persons (Benson, 2010). At their stage of life, the aged people are usually weak and unstable compared to when they were youths. Accordingly, these persons are prone to falls in such places and situations as doorsteps, washrooms and other areas with slippery floors. They may also slip when alighting from automotive, especially motorcycles. Several outcomes are common with falls. For instance, according to Pignolo (2012), the results may include bone fracture and even death in some extreme cases.

Falls endanger the lives of the aged (Cripps, 2012). With the society, and especially the healthcare team keen to ensure that the elderly individuals lead a healthy life, there is a need to think of and explore the appropriate measures, which will ensure the safety of the aged people. This task is what this project seeks to accomplish. The task explores the effective ways of preventing falls. Its outcomes will benefit the efforts of the society particularly that of the clinical practice area of ensuring that the aged people remain safe and healthy. Principally, this project anticipates providing such parties with the appropriate measures to curb falls among the elderly people and improve their overall health.

Review of Literature

This project is not the initial one to explore falls among the elderly in the society. Downton (2013), for instance, played a very big role in describing falls as one of the threats to the healthcare of the elderly. In his work “Falls in the elderly,” Downton (2013), other than describing falls and presenting some illustrations opined that they greatly risk the lives of the old adults. “Falls, gait and balance disorders in the elderly: From successful aging to frailty,” is another work on falls. In the book, however, Lafont (2006), the author, tried not to be plain on the subject matter and decided to explore the cause of falls among the elderly. Diseases according to him were a perfect example.

Principally, the literature explored simply provide the basics about falls among the elderly. It seems like they were just reporting to the community about the fact that aged adults are exposed to the risk of falling given that they do not have sufficient energy to fully support their bodies. While these works greatly contributed to the knowledge and experience about falls among the elderly, none of them tried to offer practical ways in which these falls could be curbed. It is the fact that the prevention of the falls is more imperative than just the knowledge about them that influenced the decision to carry out this project.

Project Plan

This topic was selected because of its relevance. Actually, it is everyone’s responsibility to keep the elderly healthy and this certainly commences with keeping them away from falls (Benson, 2010). This topic was inspired by an existing knowledge gap on falls. Most of the studies have discussed the basics of this issue and even about its course. Nonetheless, even the works, which have had an opportunity to explore the measures of curbing falls among the elderly, have not been comprehensive enough and this gap is what this paper seeks to exploit.

Implementation

The plan for the project included engaging the elderly from one of the world’s largest home of the elderly in various fitness practices while keen on the activities that were performed well so that they would be considered as part of the strategies for curbing falls. The project was time-consuming taking up to six months. Although it met its objectives, it encountered numerous barriers. The general handling of the elderly itself proved difficult. What Tremblay (2015) calls the ugly thing about the elderly is that some could not talk and as such, understanding them was a problem. However, all these were overcome through the support of specialists in elderly health affairs that were around. Other than just offering the society with the strategies of preventing falls among the elderly, this project also provided a different experience for the researchers.

Evaluation

Assessing the program after the completion, various specialists in issues to do with the elderly approved several of the measures, which the plan came up with. A case in point, ensuring that they take simple steps to stay safe was mentioned as the greatest move that can help reduce falls. Given this validation, the project seemed to have fulfilled its goals. It had provided the society with the means of curbing the falls among the elderly. Although there were no serious barriers, which affected the results, there is a need to modify the plan to reduce the time involved.

Recommendations/Implications for Practice

Since the measures of reducing the falls have been made out by this plan, future projects need to focus on assessing the suitability, the efficiency, and applicability of these measures to ensure that they remain relevant.

References

Benson, K. (2010). Preventing falls in the elderly. Albuquerque, NM: Hartman Pub.

Cripps, R. (2012). Falls by the elderly in Australia: Trends and data for 1998. Canberra, Australia: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Downton, H. (2013). Falls in the elderly. London, England: Springer.

Pignolo, R. (2012). Fractures in the Elderly: A Guide to Practical Management. Ann R Coll Surg Engl, 94(1), 70-72.

Lafont, C. (2006). Falls, gait and balance disorders in the elderly: From successful aging to frailty. New York, NY: Springer.

Tremblay, R. (2015). Preventing falls in the elderly. Fort Collins, Co: Colorado State University.

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