Fall Prevention Among the Elderly

The elderly are prone to injuries due to physical vulnerability. Elders have weak immune systems that might be a risk to the prevention and cure of the diseases they might contract in the clinic or any other places they access (Ungar, et al., 2019). Falls can contribute to loss of consciousness, stroke, and seizures among the elderly. The prevalence of falls among the elderly contributes to the need for understanding of their prevention. Since the elderly are vital members of the society, treatment of the accidental falls is a perfect aspect that health workers must take into consideration. The prevention of falls has not fully been implemented, contributing to its relevance as a health problem in modern society (Ungar et al., 2019). Medical diagnosis, vitamin D deficiency, and arthritis are some vital examples of the causes of falls among the elderly. Also, alcohol can cause a fall since it weakens the muscles of the elderly that contributes to the vulnerability to this health problem. The topic is vital since it provides the ideal research on the causes of falls and the need for the prevention of this health issue. The need for home and clinical remedies mainly aims at preventing the increased cases of people with a high frequency of falls. Prognosis, diagnosis, and etiology are some of the concepts of fall prevention in the elderly that are vital in the description off this health issue (Nyman, 2011). Clinicians should, therefore, apply determination in the prevention of falls through proper medical and nutritional advice to patients.  

PICOT Questions 

In the elderly population, what is the effect of exercise programs in comparison to risk factors screening on fall prevention? 

In the elderly population, what is the effect of using hip protectors in comparison to bone mineral enhancing agents in the preventions of falls? 

Does muscle weakness increase the risk of falls compared to environmental barriers (among the elderly? 

For the elderly population, does diabetes relative to stroke increase the risk of or influence falls? 

The dependent variable is fall prevention in the elderly. The elderly is the independent variable in all the questions stated.  

Stakeholders 

Clinicians, students studying nursing, healthcare practitioners, the elderly, and other social welfares will be the main stakeholders of this research. Since it entails the need for understanding of the accidental falling among the elderly, homecare and research personnel on the elderly can also gain interest in understanding prevention measures and intervention in case of an elderly experience falls in hospitals or their homes. Also, caregivers in retirement homes can gain interest in the interventions they can apply to prevent cases of falls among the elderly. Since they have the mandate to take care of the older people in their social homes, they must acquire techniques of responding to falls to prevent the escalation of injuries, morbidity, and mortality among the elderly. Volunteers in the society who take care of the elderly and provide their support can also form part of the stakeholders since they need proper knowledge in understanding and applying falls prevention measures. 

Part 5: Costs 

Prevention of falls among the elderly requires a perfect plan since it is a sensitive topic that a researcher must handle with utmost care. The elderly form a large population in the United States of America. Researching this group requires more time to provide in-depth information and informative data that the stakeholders can revere. The research proposal will, therefore, take a lot of time in sections such as interviews, surveys, visiting the elderly retired homes, and other social centers that harbor elders. Four weeks is enough time to collect in-depth data on fall prevention among the elderly. The less mobility of elders contributes to the need for application surveillance as a whole research procedure to alert them in the real visit to their retired homes. Visting social centers and conducting questionnaires are examples of the labor that will take place in this research. Data analysis and surveys will also form a part of this proposal. Choosing the participants of this research is also another form of labor that is vital for the successful collection of data on cases of falls prevention among the elderly. 

Medical history of the participants under study, online questionnaire, and graphic workflow are some of the tools that will aid in the perfect completion of this proposal. Purchasing the significant equipment should the main priority in this reaseasrch since it determines the perfection and success of the research regarding prevention measures among the elderly. The costs of the equipment must be reasonable si nc e a student conducting the research might have enough money to research fully if the costs are exaggerated. Laptop computers are vital in this research since it will be used to store data and access online interviews or questionnaires issued to the elderly. The elderly must undergo training on the type of questions they are expected to answer. Also, researchers must be aware of the ethics in the research. Training resources such as projectors can be applied to enhance the understanding of research aspects and prevention measirerw they can teach the elders and caregivers regarding cases of falls in the hospitals and homes. The training resources should not be exaggerated since the research techniques are available in the school curriculm .A researcher investigating falls prevention among the elderly should not spend a lot of money on the purchase of training resources due to the availability of elders in retirement homes. The cost of conducting research will, therefore, be reasonable. 

References 

Nyman, S. R. (2011). Psychosocial issues in engaging older people with physical activity interventions for the prevention of falls.  Canadian Journal on Aging, 30 (1), 45-55. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0714980810000759 

Ungar, A., Rafanelli, M., & Brignole, M. (2019). Evaluation and management of syncope and related disorders in the elderly.  Tresch and Aronow’s Cardiovascular Disease in the Elderly , 530-543.  https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315151311-27