Circumstances and Consequences of Falls †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Circumstances and Consequences of Falls. Answer: Introduction A fall in the medical context implies when an individual drops to a lower surface, usually on the ground, because of unavoidable reasons. Patient Falling can happen to anyone regardless of their age. The condition is however more frequent and dangerous to older people are they are vulnerable due to psychological factors. Falls are frequent in elderly care institutions with almost 50% of the patients experiencing drops at one point of their lives(Woolcott, 2009) The Australian healthcare has come up with strategies to reduce the causes and impacts of falls in their institutions as it provides the patients with a comfortable stay. Research shows that the increased number of patient falls amongst the older generation is due to psychological anticipation and it leads to a recurring condition in the individuals. Other causes can be accidental, and this is where nurses are expected to play the most significant role and prevent them (Milat, 2011). Falls have many negative consequences inclu ding injuries, paranoia, and fear of a repeat occurrence and even death to some extents. It is, therefore, necessary to look into this issue and provide better solutions. The researchers experience in the venerable institutions around Australia involved interacting with the patients and nurses to collect information. The leading discovery made through this research is that the ministry of health can help reduce the cases of falls for the old while in their institutions. A research process involves setting out objectives then going into the field to obtain as much data as possible to achieve these aims (Clemson, 2010). The researcher focused on several old institutions around Australia to observe the daily activities and interactions between the patients and health providers. The study wanted to get the opinion of both sides of the coin and therefore held talks with doctors and their clients. The hospital environment is more likely to have the highest number of falls because most individuals in the setting already have health conditions and disorders. The research took observation as the primary method of collecting data as it is dependable and natural. It is easier to not a few things related to the study around the institution and the way the people behave. The researcher visited different rooms like the wards, dining areas, washrooms and the outdoor environment. It was essential to take note of a few things like the design of the spaces, the lighting, floors, stairs, and other areas to examine their influence on the study (Oliver, 2010). Another observation was closely watching the doctors and nurses behaviors towards their patients and how the two related on a regular basis. It was also essential to ask the parties involved a few questions and got the perspective of each. Interviews, questionnaires and random talks and discussions gave most of the information used to make this study a success. The research observations, reviews, and interviews provide the researcher with enough information to answer the questions of the research and achieve all the set objectives. After the collection of data on the field, the researcher had to put together all the information and come up with the rationale for the findings. The observation of the spaces given to the patients provided so much information about the need to find out about falls in institutions. The lighting, especially in the staircases and bathrooms, was not that much illuminating as it is expected in such like an institution (Sherrington, 2011). The elderly require a nicely illuminated space to reduce any accidents that might lead to falls. The floors are well installed but then look a little dangerous in the bathrooms. An individual might slide on those washroom floors resulting to injuries, traumas and some extents deaths (Hanley, 2011). The outdoor environments appeared conducive to the institutional activities as the natural exposure might reduce stress and excessive thinking which in turn reduces the occurrences of falls. The relationship between nurses and their patients is the primary issue that determines the ability of the institution to help reduce and maintain falls so that they do not have that much impact on the patients. The primary cause of falls is psychological anticipation whereby the individual is scared that they might experience it due to previous occurrences (Cameron, 2010). Nurses seemed more involved with the patients in some institutions while in others they were neglecting their duties. Taking a measure of the number of falls that occurs on an annual basis in the prior organizations, the name was lower as compared to the following institutions. Nurses play a significant role in talking to their patients about the ways of reducing falls since most of the times it is a mental occurrence. Once it has occurred at one point, it is likely to happen again as the person anticipates it. Nurses, therefore, give them better things to think about instead of focusing on the negative aspects of their health. Some health professionals are however neglecting patients in the venerable institutions and leading to the increased number of falls in the hospitals. They are harmful about their environments and do not take time to help the patients heal or change their perspectives. The best way to handle a person prone to falls is to keep them distracted with other activities that will reduce their thinking towards the issue at hand. The interviews and questionnaires, however, showed that most of the institutions take care of their patients as they had a favourable feedback, especially from the doctors side. Conclusion In conclusion, the research process mainly focused on the occurrence of falls for the older generation by looking into the causes, effects and the things that doctors can do to reduce them. The study also wanted to find out if the nurses in venerable institutions do their jobs right to overcome all the chances of falls for their patients experiencing this condition (Gillespie, 2009). The researcher, therefore, utilized the appropriate methods of data collection to come up with conclusions for the study. It is, thus, crucial to ensure that physical, emotional and medical strategies are taken into consideration to reduce the condition of falling among patients. Falls amongst the elderly can be devastating for them and due to all the negative impacts that come with them; the Australian government should put more effort in the betterment of their institutions. References Cameron, I. D. (2010). Interventions for preventing falls in older people in nursing care facilities and hospitals. . Cochrane Database Syst Rev , 1(1). Clemson, L. F. (2010). Fall prevention in Australia: policies and activities. . Clinics in geriatric medicine , 26(4), 733-749. Gillespie, L. D. (2009). Interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community. . Cochrane Database Syst Rev , 2(2). Hanley, A. S. (2011). Community-based health efforts for the prevention of falls in the elderly. Clinical interventions in aging , 6, 19. Hartikainen, S. L. (2007). Medication as a risk factor for falls: critical systematic review. . The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences , 62(10), 1172-1181. Milat, A. J. (2011). Prevalence, circumstances and consequences of falls among community-dwelling older people: results of the 2009 NSW Falls Prevention Baseline Survey. New South Wales public healh bulleting , 22(4), 43-48. Oliver, D. H. (2010). Preventing falls and fall-related injuries in hospitals. . Clinics in geriatric medicine , 26(4), 645-692. Sherrington, C. T. (2011). Exercise to prevent falls in older adults: an updated meta-analysis and best practice recommendations. . New South Wales public health bulletin, , 22(4), 78-83. Woolcott, J. C. (2009). Meta-analysis of the impact of 9 medication classes on falls in elderly persons. . Archives of internal medicine, , 169(21), 1952-1960.