Increase Risk For Falls

Increase Risk For Falls

Introduction

Increased risk for falls remains one of the indicators of quality and safety compromises in healthcare. Increased risk for falls is often reported among the elderly groups and in illness. Falls in these groups of patients are attributable to disability and functional decline. Falls are unintentional descents to the ground or a lower level. Increased risk for falls is often seen in impairments in balance and gait, visual loss, and patients with a history of falls. Regardless of the causal factors for falls, they may cause physical injuries to the patient with consequent bone breakage and disrupted mobility (Pellicer-García et al., 2020). This informs the need to reinforce measures to prevent falls and mitigate the increased risk of falls. Reduced muscle and physical strength, physiologic and cognitive decline, high pill burden, and commodities have been implicated as causal factors for falls in healthcare. we offer high quality assignment help that is second to none.

Reduction in muscle mass and physical strength

Reduction in muscle mass is a major contributing factor to falls.

• The disease that causes wasting. Such diseases include muscular dystrophy, which results in significant muscle mass loss and lowers muscle strength.
• Old age. Age-related progressive loss in muscle mass and consequent muscle strength, as seen in sarcopenia, is another causal factor for increased falls in elderly groups.

Reduction in physical strength is also a causal factor for falls.

• Lack of exercise due to illness. Physical inactivity accustomed to illness may cause a gradual reduction in muscle strength.
• Reduced physical strength accustomed to old age.
• Physiologic and cognitive decline

Physiologic decline is a causal factor for falls.

1. Visual losses may contribute to falls.
2. Proprioceptive and vestibular functional declines may cause alterations in balance and gait and consequently cause falls.

Cognitive decline is another causal factor for falls.

1. Cognitive impairment may cause loss of gait.
2. Cognitive decline may also cause poor coordination in movements, ultimately resulting in falls.
3. Poor cognition may result in inattentiveness to hazards and may affect an individual’s ability to find their way or avoid trouble. The consequence of this may be falling.

High pill burden and comorbidity have also been implicated in falls.

1. High pill burden
2. Some medications increase the risk of falling. Such include antianxiety drugs and antihistamine medications.
3. A high pill burden can also reduce medication adherence. This may be detrimental if the underlying disease being managed increases an individual’s risk of falls.

Having multiple diseases has also been implicated as a risk factor for falls.

1. Suffering from more than one disease may exacerbate the physiologic decline.
2. Comorbidities also increase pill burden, which is implicated in many falls.
3. Specific diseases increase the risk of falls. Comorbidity with these diseases may increase an individual’s chances of falling.

Conclusion

Increased risk for falls remains a safety and quality compromise in healthcare. High pill burden and comorbidity, physiologic and cognitive decline, and muscle and physical strength reduction are all causal factors for falls. Regardless of the causal factor, the increased risk of falls remains a concern in healthcare. It may indicate lapses in care provision that negatively impact the overall care outcomes. Falls have been implicated in mobility restrictions and injuries that lower the affected individuals’ quality of life. Therefore, healthcare professionals must heighten quality and safety safeguards for the patient by implementing preventive measures against falls.

References

Pellicer-García, B., Antón-Solanas, I., Ramón-Arbués, E., García-Moyano, L., Gea-Caballero, V., & Juárez-Vela, R. (2020). Risk of falling and associated factors in older adults with a previous history of falls. MDPI. Retrieved November 11, 2022, from https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17114085.

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Course Competency:
Identify local, state, and national resources which facilitate safe and effective transitions of care for older adults.

Your supervisor at Rasmussen Home Health Services is satisfied with the resources described in your annotated bibliography and is eager for you to continue your work. As a next step, your supervisor wants you to develop and share the following items with them.

Write an introduction about your in-service presentation topic.
Create an outline that identifies and describes the important content areas for your in-service presentation topic.
Write a conclusion.
Provide an APA formatted References list containing at least 2 credible references you intend to cite in your presentation.