Risk Assessment Falls. Health, Medicine, Nursing Essay

Risk Assessment Falls
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Introduction
Unintentional falls remain a major health problem especially among older adults in England. Falls have heavy costs on the patients, family members, and the healthcare system. Knowing the detailed information about patient falls among older adults is critical in eliciting concern among health practitioners and policymakers in how to prevent them. The purpose of this risk assessment falls is to review the heavy impact and costs falls have on the healthcare system. The recommendations of this assessment will be critical in providing the necessary economic rationale and information to the relevant stakeholders, like social services providers, policymakers, and health care practitioners. They will be able to take action to prevent falls and improve on the existing treatment and rehabilitation approaches.
Importance of the chosen risk assessment in practice
Prevalence
A fall can happen to all individuals. However, falls are a serious problem for older adults. As individuals age, they are more likely to fall over. Individuals above 65 years have a higher risk of falling compared to any other age group (Gale, Cooper, and Aihie Sayer, 2016). For those aged between 65 and 79 years, the risk of falling is 30%, while for individuals older than 80 years, the risk is 50%. In England, the number of older adults is increasing, hence the repercussions of falls on the healthcare system are considerable. In terms of sex, females are more likely to fall compared to men (Wei & Hester, 2014).
Cost to NHS
Patient falls are costly to the National Health Service (NHS). In England, cost the NHS more than £4.4 billion annually (Public Health England, 2017). Since a larger portion of the expenses is spend on older adult-related cases, NHS will incur more costs in the future as the number of people in this age group increases. As NHS spends such an amount on fall-related cases, it reduces its expenditure on other health-related aspects that are important. Additionally, falls have overhead associated costs like ambulance services and social care services (Public Health England, 2017). Overall, patient falls force NHS to spend more on something that could otherwise be prevented.
Impact on patient
Falls have adverse effects on older adults. Firstly, they lead to physical injuries like pain, bruising, lacerations, scratches, and fractures among others (CDC, 2020). Such injuries hinder mobility and confine older adults. At the same time, falls can cause head injuries. These can be dangerous especially for older adults taking particular medicines like blood thinners. These medications are used to prevent blood clots. Older adults taking the medications can have prolonged bleeding from a head injury. Secondly, falls can lead to injuries that can result in a loss of confidence (Sherrington and Tiedemann, 2015). This may lead to prematurely entering long-term care. Family members could be forced to care for older adults. This limits the time they can spend on more productive activities. Additionally, falls lengthen the stay in hospitals. Compared to the other causes of hospitalization for older adults. Fall-related injuries result in a longer hospital stay. Longer hospital stay increases expenses and puts a financial burden on the patient and the family. Moreover, even where falls never cause physical injury, they can induce fear among older adults. They fear that they could fall anytime, which subsequently restricts their daily activities. The inability to remain physically active as a result of this fear contributes to functional decline (Sekaran, Choi, Hayward & Langa, 2013). When an individual is less active, they become weaker, which increases their chances of falling.
Risk factors and their relevance
The risk factors for falls are multifactorial. Falls occur due to a set of complex interactions among physical, demographic, and behavioral factors. Firstly, having a history of falls increases the probability of falling. People who fell in the past are more likely to fall again (Gu, Balcaen, Ni, Ampe, and Goffin, 2016). This means that more emphasis should be put on preventing people with a history of falls from experiencing the same problem. Secondly, the incidences of falls increase with age. As people get older, their chances of falling increase. Hence, older adults 65 years and above at a higher risk of falling. More prevention measures should be directed toward older adults since they are more vulnerable. Thirdly, older adults are more vulnerable to falls. Among the young, the fall rates for males and females are almost the same (Gale, Cooper, and Aihie Sayer, 2016). However, among older adults, women often fall more than men. At the same time, women are more likely to incur fractures when falls occur compared to men. Due to menopause, women experience more bone mineral density loss compared to men, which accounts for the variation in fall rates (Daly et al., 2013). As a result, older women need careful attention since they are more vulnerable to falls.
Fourthly, living alone makes individuals more vulnerable to falling. While living alone is an indication of greater functional capability, it can be disadvantageous once falls occur (Smith et al., 2017). In case an individual falls and cannot rise from the floor, injuries and outcomes can be devastating. For older adults, living alone is a risk factor, although it related to the type of housing someone occupies. Older adults should be encouraged to stay with other people. This will assist in ensuring the type of housing is appropriate for preventing falls. The move will also ensure that once falls occur, appropriate measures can be taken. Additionally, some types of medications can increase the chances of falling. For instance, benzodiazepine use among older adults can cause an increased risk for falls resulting in hip fracture and night falls. The use of medications like psychotropics, class, digoxin, and sedatives among others are also associated with increased cases of falls (CDC, 2020). Healthcare professionals and patients must remain aware of the medications that can contribute to falls. For older adults, the management of chronic diseases means an increase in prescribed medications. Nurses should remain aware that patients who are taking these medications are at a higher risk of falling. Medications for older adults should be administered carefully.
Furthermore, medical conditions like depression, arthritis, and circulatory diseases among others increase the risk of falling. The prevalence of falling rises with the increasing chronic burden (Pengpid and Peltzer, 2018). Individuals with such chronic conditions should be given special attention since they are at risk. Additionally, impaired mobility is a risk factor for falls. The decline in strength and endurance leads to the dropping of physical f...