In the recent years, the number of people above the age of 65years has increased significantly. In the western world, the trend is likely to continue in the future. The pattern is attributed to factors such as healthy eating, access to quality care and support. The increasing number of seniors in the population can have a significant effect on the healthcare sector ( McMahon et al., 2011 ). These are high risk individuals who require support and assistance to be able to live a healthy life. Furthermore, they experience a wide range of risks factors that can adversely affect their wellbeing. One of the major challenges that the older adults face is falls ( Carande-Kulis et al., 2015 ). It is imperative to state that falls are usually prominent among seniors and can cause serious injuries to them. Due to the adverse effects of fall, attempts have been made to manage the issue and reduce its risk among older adults. This paper explores how the implementation of multifactorial program be used to prevent and manage fall among seniors.
My proposed falls prevention strategy involves using a multifactorial program to prevent falls. In this case, the focus is on addressing the key issues that cause falls among the elderly patients. The proposed program targets five major areas to address the issue of fall. The first component is the regulation of medication use among the older adults ( Stevens et al., 2010 ). In this case, the focus will be on regulating the use of psychoactive medication and those that can cause confusion, blurred vision, and dizziness among patients ( McMahon et al., 2011 ). The second component of the program is balance and strength plans which are aimed at improving the ability of older adults to achieve gait, balance, and strength targets. The physical activities also help older adults to acquire physical strength that will enable them to move from one area to the other without falling. The third component is the use vitamin D supplements to reduce the risk of fall among older adults. One of the factors that is known to increase the risk of fall is vitamin D insufficiency. Therefore, the administration of Vitamin D supplements is considered to be one of the important interventions that can help address the subject of fall. The other main component of the proposed program is addressing the physical issues and factors that cause the problem among older adults. One of the areas that need to be addressed is the subject of foot and footwear. In some cases, older adults fall because of the kind of footwear that they have or use ( Michael et al., 2010 ). Therefore, there is a need to advise them on the kind of shoes that they should be wearing so that they do not slip and fall. The fifth component is environment monitoring and modification. Caregivers have reported that some of the items that are found at home such as the loose floor, broken items, and poorly arranged furniture can increase the risk of falling. Consequently, there is a need for the therapists and caregivers to visit the homes of the patients and check the living environment and determine the changes that are required to protect older adults from falling.
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Falls among older adults is a major issue in the healthcare system. It can lead to adverse health outcomes such as increased hospital stay, physical injury, and increased cost of care. Consequently, there is a need to develop interventions for preventing falls. The proposed program is aimed at addressing the risk factors that may cause fall among older adults.
References
Carande-Kulis, V., Stevens, J. A., Florence, C. S., Beattie, B. L., & Arias, I. (2015). A cost- benefit analysis of three older adult fall prevention interventions. Journal of safety research , 52 , 65–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2014.12.007
Dellinger A. (2017). Older Adult Falls: Effective Approaches to Prevention. Current trauma reports , 3 (2), 118–123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40719-017-0087-x
McMahon, S., Talley, K.M., & Wyman, J.F. (2011). Practice development section paper 1 older people’s perspectives on fall risk and fall prevention programs: a literature review. Int J Older People Nursing, 6 (4), 289–298.
Michael, Y.L., Whitlock, E.P., Lin, J.S., Fu, R., O’Connor, E.A., & Gold, R. (2010). Primary care-relevant interventions to prevent falling in older adults: a systematic evidence review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Ann Intern Med., 153 , 815–325.
Stevens, J.A., Baldwin, G.T., Ballesteros, M.F., Noonan, R.K., & Sleet, D.A. (2010). An older adult falls research agenda from a public health perspective. Clin Geriatr Med., 26 (4), 767–79.
