Fall Prevention in Nursing homes

Fall Prevention in Nursing homes Name Tutor Institution Date Fall Prevention in Nursing homes Abstract: Falls and fall related injuries have placed the life of many people under the long-term care in nursing homes. Therefore, a fall prevention program is an inevitable cause in the enhancement of a safe environment within these residences. This paper will review clinical practice guideline recommendations that will facilitate the implementation of the protection program. The paper seeks to address some of the risks that affect the elderly and the sick people that reside in the health facilities. Further, the program looks at different strategies that are being applied in eradicating these risks. Introduction: Studies indicate that a typical nursing facility experiences approximately between 100 and 200 falls annually (George 2009). Most of these falls have been fatal, thus leading to deaths and injuries, a factor that has made people residing in these homes extremely vulnerable. Somewhat terrifying is that these homes were developed with the intent of enhancing safety and a tranquil ending to the elderly, only to subject them to sudden demises. Safeguarding the safety and health of these people is thus very important. This will improve the credibility and respect granted to these homes. Essentially, there will be good results for all parties due to the financial returns and high level of safety to the elderly. The significance of these nursing homes is to create a good chance for these people to have a home far away from home. According to the American Medical Directors Association (AMDA), falls have resulted to deaths, bad injuries, and paralyses amongst the elderly. Agency for healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) specifies that people beyond 65 years of age are most vulnerable to falls with these health facilities. The organization also pointed out that 10% of the total emergency visits from nursing homes resulted from falls. Deaths from falls within the nursing homes cause approximately 1800 adults of older age. Worse though is the number of deaths that go unreported to the authorities. Previously, negligence from nursing homes has been consequential through long-term recurrent incidences of deaths and injuries. Their reliability over the past years has been deteriorating since rather than prolonging the lives of the elderly and the weak, these facilities have brought to sudden demises upon them. The major causes of these problems are weak muscles, poor vision, unsteady gait and balance, dementia, and of course, the side effects of certain medications. The nature of facilities such as poor lighting, slippery floors, and unfitting shoes has been very influential in falls within nursing homes. Acts of negligence from staff members have also contributed to the rising fall cases within the institution. Literature survey: Due to the sensitivity of this matter, different studies have been conducted in order to come up with effective approaches in this issue. Neyen’s (2009) developed an evaluation of factors leading to the psycho-geriatric patients in nursing homes. Neyen (2009) asserted that a general medical assessment was viable in finding out the multi-factorial interventions that would contribute to the prevention of falls within these nursing homes. In order to carry out education on members, Kato, et al. (2008), came up with a study on effective processes that could be employed in training staff members. This would enable members to come up with better handling of patients within the hospitals. He responded to the fact that some of the major problems in these facilities resulted from patients who had insufficient training on their profession. Poor understanding of patients, especially those that had communication problems resulted to problems such as falls amongst these patients. Psychology is also one of the major contributory factors in handling the aged and patients residing within these medical facilities. Sherrington, Whitney...