Aged Care Nursing Assignment | Care of the Older Person
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Added on 2020-05-28
Aged Care Nursing Assignment | Care of the Older Person
Added on 2020-05-28
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Running head: CARE OF THE OLDER PERSONCare of the Older PersonName of the Student:Name of the University:Author Note:
CARE OF THE OLDER PERSON1FALLS AMONG OLDER ADULTS:A fall is a sudden event that cause a person to come to rest on the ground or lowerlevel unintentionally due to some major inherent events like stroke and seizure. This ismostly seen in elderly people that threaten their independence and cause manysocioeconomic consequences. They are more prone to this event because they undergonormal changes in muscular activity due to aging. Along with this, they have poor eyesight,poor hearing, less strength and balance. Side effects of some medication such as medicinesfor depression, high blood pressure and some sleeping peels can also cause this event.Unsteadiness of feet may also occur due to some medicines for diabetes and improper heartconditions. One out of five falls event there are instances of serious injuries. It results in thehospitalization and in the extension of staying period that often cause many adverseconditions and complicated consequences. Many falls do not cause any serious injuries butonly one out of all five falls that cause serious injury includes broken bone and head injury.Broken bones include bones in wrist, ankle, arm and hip fractures as well. Head injury mayresult due to intake of medications like blood thinners that may cause brain injury likehematoma. Some falls may results in psychological problems as well. There are manyinstances that many people who fall are even not injured, but a fear of falling engulfed themthat in turn hampers their everyday activities. They become weaker that again increases theirchance of falling. It has been reported that over 800,000 patients are hospitalized in a yeardue to fall injury like head or hip fracture (Cdc.gov, 2018)Fall has both intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors. Some studies suggested that reducedexecutive function in elderly people acts as a predictor of risk of fall (Mathias et al. 2016).
CARE OF THE OLDER PERSON2One of the most important intrinsic factor is age, as incidence in fall generally increase withage. Gender also acts as a factor. As compared to young men and women, it has been foundthat elderly women are more prone to fall and are more likely to occur fracture during fall.Beside all these, medicines like benzodiazepine, psychotropic, class I a anti-arrhythmicmedications, sedatives increase the risk of fall significantly (Milos et al. 2014). Somediseased conditions like if a person suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder,circulatory diseases, depression and arthritis is also at increased risk of falling (Hakamy et al.2018). Another important risk is nutritional deficiencies like vitamin D deficiency and a lowbody mass index. These are most common in elderly people that often lead to muscleweakness and osteoporosis that also increase their risk of falling (Uusi-Rasi et al. 2015).Extrinsic risk factors includes environmental hazards like poor lighting, unevenness insurfaces, slippery floors, inappropriate footwear and clothing also increases the chances offalling. Falls can be prevented by various means like taking healthy and nutritious foods anddrinking enough amount of water. If a healthy and an active lifestyle is maintained by doingregular exercise like tai chi, muscle weakening and stiffening of joints can be reduced(Wayne et al. 2015). Taking only prescribed medicines, wearing comfortable, firm fittingshoes, avoiding walking in shocks, using walking aids during movement are also somepreventive measures. If a person in suffering from eyesight impairment, it is advised to checkeyes regularly to avoid falling. Home should be made clear so that pathways remain even andclean. The current strategic approach for preventing falls and fracture comprises of threestages. Firstly, it identifies those older people group who are suffering from high risks,secondly it assesses the risk factors for falls and injury in detail and lastly it gives someinterventions to reduce the risk factors that are identified (Ambrose, Cruz and Paul 2015).
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