Essay about Preventing Falls Among Elderly Patients

Introduction The purpose of this project is to prevent falls among elderly patients which is an issue of concern for the nurses in the Unit. A proposed solution is the implementation of bed alarm. As nurses seek to keep patients safer, a critical analysis of the literature on bed alarms is developed to introduce the proposal in the unit. Pre and posttest questionnaires were conducted to evaluate the nursing learning needs. Strong evidence to support the use of bed alarms as an early warning system was discussed such as quantitative studies done at Methodist University in Memphis Tennessee sponsored by the National Institute of Aging in 2009. This resulted with the hypothesis that patient falls will be 25 percent lower with the use of bed†¦show more content†¦The projects have the potential to significantly reduce falls, and related injuries. The recommended implementation of the fall prevention program in an organization includes admitting older patients at risk for falls. Such a program requires time, money, collaboration effort from the staff, and administrative support. Fall risk is a growing patient issue in the unit therefore the proposal solution is needed to prevent fall. It is a comprehensive approach to improve the health condition of the elderly in the unit. The Target Population or Audience Taking into account that patient falls continues to be reported, according to the definition provided by nurses in the unit, the scale is high for patient’s falls. Fall is a significant threat for the safety of the male elderly in the unit. So prevention becomes a main concern. The majority of patient falls occur near their beds in a unit. Elderly patients with recurrent falls have to increase their length of stay in the hospital. Studies done in the United States and other countries demonstrate that twenty-eight to thirty-nine percent of elderly from ages sixty-five and older experience fall at least once a year Day et al, (2001). A fall may lead to a poor quality of life for older patients because develop fear for the future falls and this may constitute a fall risk itself. Benefits of the Program onShow MoreRelatedFall Prevention Program for Elderly in DC1610 Words   |  6 Pages In DC, community based fall prevention programs have been rising to address falls but fal l related incident, injuries and the cost has continuously been rising among elderly people (Costello Edelstein, 2008). In the study conducted by Berland et al. (2012), showed that in home health, not viewing patient safety as primary prevention, lack of investigation causing fall and frailty of elderly adult have been some factors contributing to falls in home health. 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