NURS 389 Article Review: Falls Prevention in Health Settings

This report presents a comprehensive review of the article "Mobility Device Use in Older Adults and Incidence of Falls and Worry About Falling" by Gell et al. (2015). The review critically examines the article's structure, including its abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussion sections, while also analyzing the authors' adherence to Chicago referencing style. The critique highlights the descriptive vividness, ethical standards, and auditability of the research, while also pointing out the lack of a literature review and a specified conclusion. The analysis further delves into the study's strengths, such as the use of Stata for data analysis and a large sample size, and weaknesses, including limited discussion on multiple mobility device use and the design's difficulty in comparing populations. The report concludes by discussing the implications of the study for professional clinical practice, emphasizing its value in informing healthcare professionals about fall risks, guiding elderly individuals on mobility device choices, and suggesting avenues for future research.

Running head: ARTICLE REVIEW 1
Falls prevention in health settings
Name
Institutional Affiliation

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Summary
The article, “Morbidity Device Use in older adults and incidence of falls and worry
about falling” is a study conducted by Gell et al., 2015. The article has been well-structured,
presenting its publishers and the city of publication. As is expected in a research study paper,
the report has classified the different subtitles which include an abstract, an introduction,
methods, results, and discussion. The precise arrangement helps by offering the reader a
better understanding at each stage of the study, ultimately providing information on how
capable the morbidity device is, and at the incidences where the respondents fall, and whether
they worry about falling. The authors have appropriately and concisely followed the Chicago
referencing style for the paper, from the in-text citations, footnotes, and the referencing list as
well. However, the article fails to indicate the subtitle of the outline clearly, and the
introduction also lacks a subtitle. Also, there is no specified conclusion for the paper, thus
requiring a clear ending for readers looking into specific details under each subheading.
Critique
The researchers have achieved descriptive vividness by offering precise and concise
examples in the research. For instance, the study quotes 40% of the elderly over 85 years who
used the mobility device also used wheelchairs, canes, and walkers. The vivid description
used by the researcher helps to give the reader a sense of personality, thus getting the feeling
that they are a part of the research team. The article also documents the participants of the
study, which is in line with the requirements of the study, with a specific number of 7,609
(Gell et al., 2015). However, the paper lacks a literature review which is a requirement in
conducting research studies. The article also meets the required ethical standards as there was
a written consent which was obtained from the participants or a proxy respondent (Gell et al.,
2015). Auditability has also been achieved in the article as the authors have rigorously
developed a decision track enabling a second reader to make use of the original work and the

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decision train in arriving at the original researcher. It is evident that other researchers also
reached similar conclusions showing the reliability of the data. Analytical preciseness has
also been achieved as the interpretive statements are in line with the findings. For instance,
the interpretative declaration looks into examining the prevalence of the mobility device by
older adults in the United States. The results indicate that 24% of the total number of adults
aged over 65 used mobility devices in 2011 while about 9.3% used multiple devices in the
last month (Gell et al., 2015). Concepts have been adequately clarified with conceptual
relationships been expressed. The use of tables has also helped in presenting a clear picture of
the obtained results, providing specific data. Applicability has been achieved as the nurses
can integrate the findings of the research in their knowledge base and also apply them in
nursing practice. The knowledge of mobility helps nurses come up with better ways of fall
prevention among the elderly adults.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The Stata version that was used in the data analysis was a useful tool in the research
study. Also, the Taylor series linearization fitted the function of calculating the variance
estimates, thus measuring the prevalence of the morbidity device among the elderly. The one
year interview conducted provided enough timeline for the study to be undertaken as the
population of 7,609 is significantly extensive (Gell et al., 2015). The article’s theoretical
basis is related to the concerns of nurses. The authors avoid biases by putting across evidence
against each argument presented which helped in providing clarity on the given issue. Also,
they looked into a wide variety of models in the research, which was aimed at achieving
accurate results for the study.
The instruments used in conducting the research study would help in coming up with
an almost accurate result for the study. However, errors might occur during the survey
causing severe problems with the results derived. Nonetheless, the use of more than one

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mobility devices has not been widely discussed, which provides limited data for research
which looks into the use of multiple mobility devices. However, the design used makes it
hard to bring together comparative populations in an effort of comparing the mobility device
effect. Also, the detail level of the primary device used circumstances and reasons.
Implications
The study has a significant role to play in professional clinical practice. First, it assists
healthcare professionals in realizing how much risk the individual who is walking without a
mobility device is at and if the use of mobility devices helps in reducing the fall among the
older adults. Also, professionals can use the earned information to guide elderly individuals
on the best choice regarding mobility devices.
The research study also implies future research as it will provide relevant and helpful
information. The acquired knowledge will, in turn, assist in coming up with a solution to the
high cases of falls among the elderly adults, and also help in establishing a solution to the fear
of falling among older adults.

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References
Gell, N. M., Wallace, R. B., Lacroix, A. Z., Mroz, T. M., & Patel, K. V. (2015). Mobility
device use in older adults and incidence of falls and worry about falling: findings
from the 2011–2012 National Health and Aging Trends Study. Journal of the
American Geriatrics Society, 63(5), 853-859.