Fear of Falling
Falls by the elderly are prevalent and costly, not only financially but also in terms of quality of life. Many falls are preventable, and they should never be assumed to be a natural outcome of the aging process. The cause of a fall is often multifactor, and every effort must be made to address as many of these causes as possible.
There are numerous studies discussing fear of falling and these studies explored the different factors related to falling and how falling can be prevented. This journal analysis will critically analyzed three related articles on falls and will identify the following: identifying the researchers of the studies, the problem or question to be determined by the research, the subjects or respondents of the research, the significance of the number and gender of the respondents, the findings or the results of the study and finally, the conclusions of each studies. The studies that this paper will discuss are the following: “Fear of Falling: An Emerging Public Health Problem” and “Incidence and Risk Factors for Developing Fear of Falling in Older Adults” by , and “Breaking the Fall Factor,” by .
The studies Fear of Falling: An Emerging Public Health Problem and Incidence and Risk Factors for Developing Fear of Falling in Older Adults were all conducted by a credible researcher, a graduate pf PhD, a registered Nurse and at the same time an assistant professor of the School of Nursing,. Her works were all supported by the National Institute of Nursing Research. The problem of the first study is identifying the prevailing physical and psychological consequences of falling to older adults and its interventions (:2005). , also discussed the case of Mrs. M as an example in her research. She discussed numerous researchers that present the clinical assessment on falling among older adults. The researches were a review and discussion of the studies of health professionals working with older adults and routinely checking older individuals. According to research, fear of falling is the most common cause of disability among older adults. She also added that there should be more studies identifying intercessions in order to avoid and treat fear of falling, this includes, falls, fractures and a poor quality of life.
In the second article of (2005), Incidence and Risk Factors for Developing Fear of Falling in Older Adults, she explored fear of falling in a longitudinal study of falls to distinguish incidence occurrence, and risk factors for developing fear of falling as the problem of her study. The study was conducted in an urban metropolitan area, with subjects of about 800 older adults in the age group of 45. The study stated that the age of the older adults are very significant in their incidence of falls because of their health, physical mobility, balance, health and cognition. The results of the study are the following: the prevalence of fear of falling has augmented over 2 years from 23-23%; the average incidence is 22.5% during the 2 follow up years. In conclusion, incidence and prevalence of fear of falling is noteworthy between community dwelling older adults and has the latent effect on the purpose and value of life. Nurses put into practice fear of falling, in enhancing selection and health programs for older adults.
Finally, the study of (2002), Breaking the Fall Factor can also be considered very credible because of the fact that Sue specializes on the topic of Fall and at the same time she is also a nurse like . She is also supported by the Nursing Management. The problem of her research is identifying fall prevention and distinguishing at risk patients and at the same suggests ways of minimizing patient injury. The subjects of her study are community dwelling older adults but did not stated the number of her respondents. According to her study, there were 4 to 12 falls per 1,000 bed days in a hospital, while 30% of community dwelling older adults and 50% of long term care patients fall every year. In conclusion, it is the responsibility of the nurses and the nursing management to begin interventions of fall.
The three articles or studies are related because of the following reasons: they are all conducted by nurses and health professionals; they all believed that falls and fear of falling are prevailing among older adults and age and gender are all significant factors. Lastly, they all believe that nurses and health professional are the ones responsible to the promotion of falls intervention.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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