Your staff development PPT presentation will include the information from your written paper in 10-12 slides (including a title and reference slide in APA format). Make sure to include speaker notes at the bottom of your slide to explain the content of your slide.

Fall prevention among the geriatric’s population in the hospital

The most commonly reported causes of injuries among the geriatric’s population are falls. With the increase of the population with 65 years and above, the likelihood of falling cases has elevated particularly due to the change in lifestyles and behaviors as well as the quality of life (Vieira, Palmer & Chaves, 2016). This has imposed a financial burden to the healthcare system over the years which has necessitated the development of evidence-based interventions to prevent as well as treat and manage the complications associated with falls among the geriatrics population. Falls cause prolonged stays at the hospital, increased morbidity and mortality as well as disrupts the normal functioning of the individual rendering them dependent at old age. This in turn causes an economic and social burden to the family and the society at large.

The World Health Organization reports a global fall rate of 28-35% among the geriatric population worldwide every year (Vieira, Palmer & Chaves, 2016). This presents an alarming number that is worth the clinical attention to seek prevention strategies. Further, these falls cause injuries, disabilities, brain injuries, lacerations, fractures and death. This means that the functioning of the victim in the society deteriorates. The prevalence of falls is also observed to increase with age after 65 years. As such, the reason why I chose to explore this topic is to gain insights on the causes of increased falls in the hospital settings so as to be able to formulate and employ effective interventions to prevent falling in the geriatric’s hospital unit. This will consequently assist in the reduction of the financial and social burden associated with falls among the elderly population in the society as well as the healthcare system.

The PICOT question for the study is, “Does exercise and nutritional therapy prevent falls in geriatric hospitalized patients of 65 years of age and above within six months?” The question examines the elderly population of 65 years and above and employs nutritional value which involves the administration of Vitamin D to the patient together with physical activity intervention strategies to prevent falls. The research expects a reduction of the geriatrics falling population in hospital settings within six months.

The clinical setting presents multiple factors that promote the occurrence of falls. For instance, the patient factors; structural factors of the organization including poor lighting and slippery floors in the inpatient units; the patient nurse ration which limits effective supervision and provision of adequate treatment and lack of patient education and awareness of the environment. According to Guirguis-Blake et al. (2018), nutritional therapy is effective in preventing falls whereby; patients are given annual high-dose cholecalciferol or vitamin D formulations to improve their health and body strength which increase balance and prevents falling. The authors also note that group, supervised or unsupervised exercise improves the health, wellbeing and fitness of the patient preventing weaknesses and infections which could trigger falls (Guirguis-Blake et al., 2018). In support of the argument, a research by Uusi-Rasi et al. (2015) reports that vitamin D and exercise prevent falls among the geriatric women population through a randomized clinical trial.

Exercise and nutritional therapies increase mobility, balance and strength as well as the bone density, metabolism and physical functioning of patients (Vieira, Palmer & Chaves, 2016). The evaluation of the effectiveness of these methods can be done through quantitative techniques. This will involve the examination of statistical data recorded over the six months of study regarding the fall cases among the hospitalized geriatrics participating in the study. This will determine the progress of the intervention and its effectiveness in preventing falls.

References

Guirguis-Blake, J. M., Michael, Y. L., Perdue, L. A., Coppola, E. L., & Beil, T. L. (2018). Interventions to prevent falls in older adults: updated evidence report and systematic review for the US Preventive Services Task Force. Jama, 319(16), 1705-1716.

Uusi-Rasi, K., Patil, R., Karinkanta, S., Kannus, P., Tokola, K., Lamberg-Allardt, C., & Sievänen, H. (2015). Exercise and vitamin D in fall prevention among older women: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA internal medicine, 175(5), 703-711.

Vieira, E. R., Palmer, R. C., & Chaves, P. H. (2016). Prevention of falls in older people living in the community. Bmj, 353, i1419.