Introduction
According to recent research, one in four older people fall annually with approximately ten percent of the falls resulting in serious injuries that need medical attention. Besides, falls in the elderly group account for the biggest proportion of injuries-related deaths as well as hospitalizations. Additionally, the entire lifetime expenditures for fall-related injuries might reach one billion dollars by 2012. Fortunately, the majority of falls are preventable as well as predictable. As a result, this project will focus on falls prevention for older people.
Approval and support for the proposal
Although this project will focus on the old people, it will encompass a variety of relevant people and authorities. They will include the community and the health care providers. As a result, these people will approve the proposal. To begin with, these people will receive letters from the ethical committee and the institution. The letters will have descriptions of the proposal, the purpose of the proposal, the significance of the proposal as well as the ethics that the researcher will adhere to during the implementation phase. Upon receiving the letters, the concerned authorities will require to approve them. Once approved it means that the researcher is free to carry out the research. Finally, during the implementation phase, the old people who will be willing to be included in the study will provide consent by signing consent forms.
On the other hand, before the implementation of the proposal, the researcher will visit the areas concerned. These visits are imperative because they will help the researcher gain support for the proposal. For instance, a visit in the community will increase the researcher’s fame and this will decrease rejection during the implementation phase. Additionally, visits to the health care institutions will give the researcher chances to explain his proposal and this will help the health care professionals to understand the intent of the proposal thus increasing their acceptance and interest in the proposal.
The current problem
The verity that many elderly people have fallen and that these falls can lead to injuries that compromise the health, as well as the values of life, is not a well-documented problem. Moreover, falls, which lead to injuries are possibly not viewed as the foremost problems since they take place in isolation. For instance, most of the falls happen inside the houses and most people believe that they are the problems of individuals. Furthermore, the attention of the public is irked but swiftly vanishes every time media report about the death of an old person after an obvious fall. It is unfortunate that communication devices, which can call for help in such situations, are available but they do not assist in falls prevention.
Therefore, we should raise the falls outline as predictable as well as preventable so that we can find ways of engaging communities to reduce the probability of their happening. Several falls cause fractures and staid injuries that affect people’s health and life qualities. Moreover, other detrimental effects of falls include activities restrictions, feeling of dissuasion of caregivers and fear of falls. On the other hand, the fear of falling is incapacitating leading to a decrease in exercise, activity and independence. Finally, the risk factors for falling keep on changing because a change in one factor leads to a change in the fall potential. Hence, these factors are interdependent and they differ in degrees of relevance in association to the autonomies of the people. These factors include environmental, physical, activity-related and drug-related.
The proposed solutions
According to Sherrington & Menz (2007), the proposed solutions should concentrate on alleviation or reduction of the risk factors. To begin with, environmental engineering will be of great benefit. This includes reorganizing the environment so that health hazards like slippery floors and poor lighting are absent (Miller, 2006). This reorganization should include the collaboration of the old people so that they understand the reasons for the changes. Moreover, the change should be progressive because a sudden change in an environment can be confusing and can even damage the well-being of the people. Finally, the efforts of environmental modification should entail the dignity of the old people and the aspirations of maintaining control together with independence.
On the other hand, physical factors are normal biological mechanisms and they come along with the aging processes (Landefeld, 2005). Since the alleviations of physical factors are impracticable, environmental modification is the best way because physical factors depend on environmental factors. For example, an old person with poor vision is likely to fall in the presence of a slippery floor.
Additionally, health care professionals should monitor and evaluate the use of medication by old people (Sherrington & Menz, 2007). The monitoring and evaluation should be a corporation between the healthcare professionals and the old people. Finally, exercise programs are important in falls prevention (Miller, 2006). For example, maintaining a flexible and sufficient exercise help in preserving the dexterity and strength that are important in falls prevention. Moreover, appropriate nutrition facilitates maintenance of activities levels and falls resistance.
The rationale for the proposed solutions
Environmental reorganization is the main proposal because it is very easy to modify an environment (Landefeld, 2005). For instance, it is very easy to modify poor lighting and slippery floor via adequate lighting and drying the floor respectively. On the contrary, physical factors are factors that come along with the aging process and they include a decrease in muscle tone, poor vision and hearing. The physical factors are likely to cause falls in the presence of environmental factors (Sherrington & Menz, 2007). This is the reason why environmental engineering reduces the risk of falls resulting from physical factors.
Furthermore, medication use contributes to falling (Miller, 2006). For instance, irrational drug use like overdose causes memory disturbance as well as visual impairment, which are potential causes of falls. For this reason, monitoring and evaluation of medication therapies are imperative. Lastly, the changes associated with aging are delicate but progressive. Most of the time people do not notice the little but crucial decline in the ability to function (Landefeld, 2005). For example, usual activities like reaching for high places become a challenge to the old people. As a result, exercise programs play critical roles in fall prevention.
Implementation logistics
The integration of the proposed solution in the community will take place after the approval of the proposal by the relevant authorities. The integration of change will involve the entire community, the old people, the health care professional and the researcher. These people will work collaboratively to ensure that the fall prevention programs are in place and are on the right track of meeting the broad objective of the project, which is falls prevention for old people.
The initiation of the change will commence with education. The community will receive education about the importance of fall prevention for old people. After the education, the discussion about the roles of the community in falls prevention will take place then the roles assigned to different groups of people. For instance, the community will engage in environmental engineering and exercise programs while the health care professionals will engage in monitoring and evaluation of medication therapies. After the assignment of roles, the researcher will explain to the different groups of people what they should do and they will then proceed with the implementation of the different changes.
During the implementation phase, continuous monitoring and evaluation will take place to ensure that the changes are of benefit to the community. The evaluation process will involve the community members as well as the researcher. For instance, the community will evaluate the impact of environmental modification in falls prevention while the health care workers will evaluate the effect of medication therapy monitoring on the reduction of falls for old people. Finally, the researcher will evaluate all the changes to determine if they have a significant impact on falls prevention for old people.
The resources needed for the implementation
The staffs are the people who will be responsible for the implementation of change and they include the health care professionals, the community members, the family members, the researcher as well as the old people. These people are important because without them change cannot take place. Additionally, educational materials play critical roles in the change process. The materials include pamphlets, handouts, posters as well as PowerPoint presentations. These materials will contain relevant information about fall prevention for old people. For instance, they will contain the change implementation processes as well as the evaluations.
Moreover, the assessment tools that will be useful in the change process are the questionnaires and the surveys. These tools will be imperative in the assessment of the impact of the implemented changes on the old people during and after the implementation of the changes. On the other hand, the research will involve the use of computer technology. For instance, the researcher will enter all the interventions in the computer and their implementation analyzed and evaluated through computer programs like excel and word.
Additionally, the use of various packages will enhance fall prevention for old age. These packages include the instructors’ manuals, the instructors’ supplements as well as the participants’ course books. The instructors’ manuals will highlight useful steps in the implementation of the change process while the instructors’ supplements will stipulate the options that people should take when the implemented changes prove to be insignificant to the old people. Lastly, the participants’ course books will outline the roles of the old people in the change process. Finally, funds are the greatest resources without which the change process cannot take place. For example, money is important because it will help in educating the staff, printing the educational materials as well as gathering and analyzing data.
Conclusion
In conclusion, finding a way of assisting people to recognize that falling is preventable and that interventions towards prevention exist is the key challenge. Furthermore, similar to any prevention attempt, the solution will be versatile. For instance, the meeting of some challenges can be through training of the health care professionals to concentrate on fall prevention and to be ready to offer relevant solutions. Additionally, the senior people in the community can be involved in planning and implementation of prevention programs like environmental engineering so that they empower other community members. Finally, the creation of community projects that reduce the risk factors for falling will contribute to the overall efforts of fall prevention for old people.
References
Landefeld, S. (2005). Current Geriatric Diagnosis and Treatment. Boston: McGraw-Hill Professional.
Miller, C. (2006). Nursing for Wellness in Older People. Baltimore: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
Sherrington, C., & Menz, B. (2007). Fall in Older People: Risk Factors and Strategies for Prevention. New York: Cambridge University Press.