Understanding And Preventing Falls

Readable and authoritative, Understanding and Preventing Falls provides a guide to the nature and extent of the problem of falls. Drawing on the latest research, the authors outline the combination of environmental factors that commonly lead to falls and explore how to prevent them. The case is made for a multifaceted approach to falls prevention,

Despite the fact that elderly persons have a 33-35% chance of falling and becoming injured, most are ill-prepared. According to the World Health Organization, falls cause over 50% of accidental injuries and 39% of fatal injuries in the elderly. They are the fifth leading cause of death in the general population. Falls can be either non-mechanical, related to underlying illness or debilitation, or they can be mechanical, related to accidental trips and slips and caused by environmental factors such as poor lighting, surprise steps, lack of grab bars, and slippery bathroom floors. Non-mechanical falls can be related to cognitive disorders, such as stroke or dementia, or to frailty. They can also be related to over-medicating with sedatives, diabetic medications, or blood pressure therapy. Falls can be the consequence of aging or chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, or cancer. Patients with any of these disorders may have poor muscle tone, walking disorders, or a loss of equilibrium. Mechanical falls may be completely avoided by fall-proofing the home environment. This book outlines several practical tips for eliminating potential home hazards and reviews each of the major causes of falls to help the patient and his or her caregiver, as well as the health provider, prevent falling by adapting one's lifestyle. The book also covers exercise programs and community programs that can be established and used to minimize the risk of falling in the elderly. Given that falls are common and that the majority of persons who fall are ill-prepared, this book will raise awareness of fall-prevention measures that can help reduce falls and fall-related injuries.

The WHO Falls Prevention for Active Ageing model provides an action plan for making progress in reducing the prevalence of falls in the older adult population. By building on the three pillars of falls prevention, the model proposes specific strategies for: 1. Building awareness of the importance of falls prevention and treatment; 2. Improving the assessment of individual, environmental, and societal factors that increase the likelihood of falls; and 3. For facilitating the design and implementation of culturally appropriate, evidence-based interventions that will significantly reduce the number of falls among older persons. The model provides strategies and solutions that will require the engagement of multiple sectors of society. It is dependent on and consistent with the vision articulated in the WHO Active Ageing Policy Framework. Although not all of the awareness, assessment, and intervention strategies identified in the model apply equally well in all regions of the world, there are significant evidence-based strategies that can be effectively implemented in all regions and cultures. The degree to which progress will be made depends on to the success in integrating falls prevention strategies into the overall health and social care agendas globally. In order to do this effectively, it is necessary to identify and implement culturally appropriate, evidence-based policies and procedures. This requires multi-sectoral, collaborations, strong commitment to public and professional education, interaction based on evidence drawn from a variety of traditional, complementary, and alternative sources. Although the understanding of the evidence-base is growing, there is much that is not yet understood. Thus, there is an urgent need for continued research in all areas of falls prevention and treatment in order to better understand the scope of the problem worldwide. In particular, more evidence of the cost-effectiveness of interconnections is needed to develop strategies that are most likely to be effective in specific setting and population sub-groups.

The average cost of a worker fall is $12,470, increasing to over $26,000 when lost production and other costs are factored in. At a profit margin of 10%, more than $250,000 of revenue needs to be generated to cover a single slip/fall loss. Costs are higher for falls sustained by the public. Slip and Fall Prevention: A Practical Handbook resp

"Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient car -- not only in the hospital or ambulatory treatment facility, but also of community-based care and the care performed by family members. Nurses need know what proven techniques and interventions they can use to enhance patient outcomes. To address this need, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), with additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has prepared this comprehensive, 1,400-page, handbook for nurses on patient safety and quality -- Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043)." - online AHRQ blurb, http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/

4. EVIDENCE-BASED BEST PREACTICES FOR THE PREVENTION OF FALLS: 4.1 Existing practice guidelines ; 4.2 Best practices for fall prevention ; 4.3 Selecting appropriate approaches according to setting; 4.4 Recovery from a fall ;4.5 Factors influencing client compliance in fall prevention . 5. SUPPORTING FALL PREVENTION STRATEGIES. 6. THE WAY FORWARD; References; List of tables and figures; Appendix A: Risk factors for falls and fall-related ; Appendix B: List of the Public Health Agency of Canada's resources on seniors' falls.

This new open access edition supported by the Fragility Fracture Network aims at giving the widest possible dissemination on fragility fracture (especially hip fracture) management and notably in countries where this expertise is sorely needed. It has been extensively revised and updated by the experts of this network to provide a unique and reliable content in one single volume. Throughout the book, attention is given to the difficult question of how to provide best practice in countries where the discipline of geriatric medicine is not well established and resources for secondary prevention are scarce. The revised and updated chapters on the epidemiology of hip fractures, osteoporosis, sarcopenia, surgery, anaesthesia, medical management of frailty, peri-operative complications, rehabilitation and nursing are supplemented by six new chapters. These include an overview of the multidisciplinary approach to fragility fractures and new contributions on pre-hospital care, treatment in the emergency room, falls prevention, nutrition and systems for audit. The reader will have an exhaustive overview and will gain essential, practical knowledge on how best to manage fractures in elderly patients and how to develop clinical systems that do so reliably.