NR 503 Week 2 Assignment: Healthy People 2020 Impact Paper
Chamberlain University
Healthy People 2020 Impact Paper
The topic of this paper is
... [Show More] falls that impact the target population of geriatrics. This population will take place in the state of Illinois and we will be concentrating on how to improve the number of falls. In this paper we will be discussing ways to prevent the number of falls through Healthy People 2020 interventions. This will help identify targets that are used to prevent morbidity and mortality that are associated with falls. To help identify these targets, literature and interventions from Healthy People 2020 will be used.
Falls are the most common problems associated in the geriatric population (Kontowicz et al., 2019). Falls also are the start of many different complications in this population (Kontowicz et al., 2019). These complications affect the quality of life for these older adults (Kontowicz, 2019). Falls occur every single day at the hospital and they occur when the geriatric population do not have the proper education or equipment to be safe. Geriatric falls can lead to more problems in their already complicated health history including, brain injuries, broken hips and bones, and even death.
Geriatric Falls in Illinois
The geriatric population in the state of Illinois is no different than in any other state. It is said that every thirty minutes, there is a fall in the population of geriatrics. From this fall, the adult may suffer from several injuries or even die from the incident. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the state of Illinois, each time an adult turns 65 their chances of fall increase by 50%. The conditions that occur from falls are lower body weakness, vitamin D deficiency, difficulty walking and balance, use of more medications, and foot pain. However, to prevent these falls, it is simple. Education is very important when it comes to prevention of falls in the geriatric population. It may even be necessary to have a one to one care for certain geriatric populations.
Data on Mortality and Morbidity
Falls are the number one cause of death in the population of geriatrics. It is known that if a geriatric patient falls then they will either have more complications in the near future or suffer from death as a consequence. According to Lui et al. (2015), about 36% of the patients that visit the emergency departments in Illinois are admitted for falls. The revisits for this population are for more falls or even death. Falls are the reason for geriatric admits and revisits in the emergency department (Lui et al., 2015). The geriatric population visit the emergency room twice as much once they have already had one fall in their history.
Healthy People 2020. According to Healthy People 2020, falls are treated in emergency departments every 13 seconds. The number of older adults that fall are about 33%. According to Healthy People 2020, there is evidence-based practice programs available to the geriatric population on how to prevent falls. These include aging services and other community resources available for the geriatric population to use.
One main way for the geriatric population to decrease the number of falls is through proper caregivers assigned to those who are at risk for fall. For the adults who are in hospitals at risk for falls, a one to one observation caregiver should be assigned to that patients. For the patients that are at risk for falls at the in-home settings, a caregiver should be hired to care for that adult during times of ambulation and bathroom use. To prevent falls in the home settings when the older adult is alone, there should be prevention methods to reduce the number of falls. These prevention methods include wearing non-skid socks, not having rugs or carpets in the house to prevent a slip and all and to have rails in the bathrooms and areas where they walk such as staircases and bathtubs. The goal to prevent falls for Healthy People 2020 is to educate the older adults on how to care for themselves with the listed preventative methods on reduction of falls.
Health Promotion Review. In terms of preventing falls in the geriatric population for goals of the Healthy People 2020, it is important to understand the interventions that are presented by Healthy People 2020. The main intervention is to provide the correct guidance to this population through nursing education on how to prevent falls or through strict caregiver assignment. Another intervention to reduce the number of falls in the geriatric population is by following a fall prevention protocol (Goldberg et al., 2019). This protocol will allow geriatrics to follow a certain process to reduce the number of falls accumulated over a course of a year.
The interventions that are included in the protocol that the geriatric population should follow includes the same interventions listed in Healthy People 2020. The geriatric population needs to be monitored through caregivers, especially the ones with a history of previous falls (Goldberg et al., 2019). Another preventative method to reduce the amount of emergency room visits is by following the rules given by providers.
Conclusion. In conclusion, falls are the biggest reason for death and increase in issues in the geriatric population. Falls are very common and the number one reason why older adults are admitted into the emergency room. In the state of Illinois, about 33% of the geriatric population is seen in the emergency room due to falls. According to Healthy People 2020, the best way to prevent falls is through proper education to the older population on how to prevent falls. Falls can be prevented through the use of a caregiver assigned to the patients or through interventions being placed that can be as simple as putting non-skid socks on to walk around the house. The goal for health people 2020 is to reduce the number of falls that occur in the geriatric population.
References
Elizabeth M. Goldberg, Linda Resnik, Sarah J. Marks, & Roland C. Merchant. (2019). GAPcare: the
Geriatric Acute and Post-acute Fall Prevention Intervention—a pilot investigation of an emergency department-based fall prevention program for community-dwelling older adults. Pilot and Feasibility Studies, (1), 1. https://doi-org.chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/10.1186/s40814-019-0491-9
Liu, S. W., Obermeyer, Z., Chang, Y., & Shankar, K. N. (2015). Frequency of ED revisits and death
among older adults after a fall. American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 33(8), 1012–1018. https://doi-org.chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2015.04.023
Marlena Kontowicz, Beniamin Szmelcer, Michał Wilczyński, Martyna Lamtych, Karolina Kubiak, Aneta
Karło, … Kornelia Kędziora Kornatowska. (2019). A rehabilitation approach to the falls of geriatric patients. Journal of Education, Health and Sport, (6), 151. https://doi-org.chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/10.5281/zenodo.3238282
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Tables
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