Hip fractures pose a significant public health problem among today’s elderly population. With the number of elderly citizens (ages 65 and older) continuing to increase, it is likely that the number of hip fractures will increase as well. Each year more than 300,000 elderly people are hospitalized for hip fractures ("Hip Fractures Among Older Adults," n.d.). Studies show that 15% to 25% of hip fracture patients die within one year, and about 9 out of 10 hip fractures occur in individuals over 60 years of age and are usually the result of a fall (Schoen, 2008). Hip fractures can diminish the quality of life and independence, impaired mobility, as well as pose an increased risk for diminished health and possible mortality, subsequent fractures, …show more content…
Vision impairments increase the risk of falling and subsequent hip fractures by inhibiting the ability to orient oneself, safely move through one’s surroundings, see objects and obstacles in the periphery, or changes in depth perception (Grue, Kirkevold, & Ranhoff, 2008). Eye screenings and vision checks should be conducted regularly (once a year, or more often if there is a history of diabetes or eye disease) to determine a patient’s risk for impaired vision or changes in vision, and to have eyeglasses updated as needed. Nurses can get involved by screening for possible vision limitations and changes during check-ups, teaching about the importance of using adequate lighting, the use of visual aids as needed, and providing outside resources to assist in the prevention of falls and possible hip fractures due to vision …show more content…
Age-related bone loss is gradual and influenced by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors that accelerate the decline in bone mass that predisposes one to sustain a fracture (Demontiero, Vidal, & Duque, 2012). Osteoporosis is an age-related occurrence that frequently affects the elderly population and can add to the increased risk of sustaining a hip fracture. Osteoporosis is a progressive metabolic bone disease characterized by low bone mass (accelerated rate of bone resorption), and structural deterioration of bone tissue (decrease in new bone formation), leading to a loss of bone mass and increased bone fragility (Lewis, Dirksen, Heitkemper, & Bucher, 2014). Bone scans can be performed before a fracture occurs to identify those at increased risk for osteoporosis, and preventative measures can be taken to decrease the rate of bone loss, therefore lower the risk of sustaining a hip fracture. Eating a well-balanced diet rich in calcium and vitamin D, cessation of smoking, and eliminating alcohol can all aid in the slowing of osteoporosis and sustain bone density (Berry et al.,
Osteoporosis comes from the latin word meaning “porous bone”. If you were to look closely at a bone you could see there are these small spaces on the bone which is good, now if you look at someone who suffers from osteoporosis you will see these spaces are much larger. As these spaces become larger it takes away from the strength and integrity of the bone making it grow weak and thin. Osteoporosis is most common in women over the age of 50 and gives them a higher risk of fractures and or breaks especially common in the hips. While we know osteoporosis comes from a number of things it can be broken down to age, the hormonal changes most commonly seen in menopause and a lower intake of Vitamin D and Calcium. Age is the unpreventable factor that doctors or you cannot change. Hormonal changes can be fixed with supplements or hormone therapy along with ones intake of Vitamin D and Calcium. Hormone therapy, estrogen alone or the combination of estrogen and progestin have been proven to prevent and aide in the treatment of osteoporosis in
There are many different diseases that can affect our skeletal system and Osteoporosis is one of them. Osteoporosis lessens bone strength and bone density (amount of bone mineral in bone tissue), which will lead to fragile bones. It mainly affect the hips, ribs, spine, and wrists. Male or female, at any age, can get this but it is mostly occurs in older women (Team, 2016). Osteoporosis is very common, there are more than 3 million cases a year. There are many causes/risk factors, symptoms, and some treatment cases. About 54 million Americans have Osteoporosis and low bone mass (Foundation, 2016).
This document’s purpose is to assist nurses to identify elderly patients at risk for falls and to implement interventions to prevent or decrease the number of falls and fall related injuries (RNAO, 2005). The target population are elderly adults in acute or long-term care. The recommendations are to help practitioners and patients make effective healthcare decisions, support nurses by giving educational recommendations, and to guide organizations in providing an environment receptive to quality nursing care and ongoing evaluation of guideline implementation and outcomes. These guidelines stress and interdisciplinary approach with ongoing communication and take patient preferences into consideration.
Osteoporosis is a condition, which advances with age, resulting in fragile, weak bones due to a decrease in bone mass. Externally osteoporotic bone is shaped like normal bone, however it’s internal appearance differs. Internally the bone becomes porous due to a loss in essential minerals, including phosphate and calcium. The minerals are loss more quickly than they can be replaced and in turn cause the bones to become less dense and weak. The bones become prone to fracture, due to their weakness. Therefore the awareness of the disease tends to occur after a fracture has been sustained. The bones most commonly affected are the ribs, wrist, pelvis and the vertebrae.
Osteoporosis is a condition, in which bones are weak from deterioration, loss of bone mass, and quality-bone strength. Osteoporosis usually triggers postmenopausal women (women who have not had their period for a whole year), or older men and women. Some risks both older men and women endure when experiencing Osteoporosis are decrease of calcium and bone fractures. These symptoms or effects can all be caused by weight loss, smoking, age, ethnicity, genetics, medications, bone structure, and certain diseases that can later on contribute to Osteoporosis, such as rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoporosis may be prevented by going to drug therapy to stop alcoholism and smoking, a sufficient amount of calcium intake, and exercising; such as jogging, walking,
First of all, being a woman is one of the risk factors of osteoporosis especially after the age of menopause. “30% of American women between the ages of 60 and 70 have osteoporosis” (Marieb & Hoehn, 2016).To clarify, menopause is characterized by the loss of estrogen hormone production by the ovaries. Since estrogen is necessary for osteoblast to build new bone tissues, the lack of this hormone will improve the ability of osteoblast to absorb the bone tissues. Another risk factor of osteoporosis is being Caucasian. Caucasian women are more likely to get osteoporosis. 30% of Caucasian women experience a bone fracture in their lives that is related to osteoporosis” (Marieb & Hohen, 2016) . Furthermore, genetics are another risk factor of osteoporosis. Individuals with a family history of osteoporosis are at a primary risk for developing this condition. Moreover, a bad and unhealthy lifestyle including poor diet, lack of activities and exercise, smoking, and drinking too much are also risks factors of osteoporosis. In addition, low body weight is another risk factor of osteoporosis. Individuals with low body weight and small amount of fat and muscles are more likely to get this
Thus, the recommended treatment for a patient with osteoporosis would receive supplementary calcium (1,000 to 1,500 mg of calcium daily) as confirmed in the National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference on osteoporosis in 1984. But studies have shown that as humans age their ability to absorb calcium starts to diminish making this treatment almost ineffective in some elderly patients. Patients of this time, with little treatment options were forced to endure many fracture related injuries; most commonly fractures of the hip which is a very complicated fracture requiring hospitalisation and a surgical practice would be required. Even if the surgery had been successful the patient would not be able to return to the previous levels of activity they were once at; forcing the patient from self-care to supervised living situations/nursing
A fall is an “untoward event which results in the patient coming to rest unintentionally on the ground” (Morris & Isaacs, 1980). When it comes to patient safety in health care, there isn’t any subject that takes precedence. Patient falls are a major cause for concern in the health industry, particularly in an acute-care setting such as a hospital where a patient’s mental and physical well being may already be compromised. Not only do patient falls increase the length of hospital stays, but it has a major impact on the economics of health care with adjusted medical costs related to falls averaging in the range of 30 billion dollars per year (Center for Disease Control [CDC], 2013). Patient falls are a common phenomenon seen most often in the elderly population. One out of three adults, aged 65 or older, fall each year (CDC, 2013). Complications of falls are quite critical in nature and are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries including traumatic brain injuries and fractures. A huge solution to this problem focuses on prevention and education to those at risk. ...
A fall is a lethal event that results from an amalgamation of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors which predispose an elderly person to the incident (Naqvi et al 2009). The frequency of hospital admission due to falls for older people in Australia, Canada, UK and Northern Ireland range from 1.6 to 3.0 per 10 000 population (WHO 2012). The prevalence of senior citizen’s falls in acute care settings varies widely and the danger of falling rises with escalating age or frailty. Falls of hospitalized older adults are one of the major patient safety issues in terms of morbidity, mortality, and decreased socialization (Swartzell et al. 2013). Because the multi-etiological factors contribute to the incidence and severity of falls in older society, each cause should be addressed or alleviated to prevent patient’s injuries during their hospital stay (Titler et al. 2011). Therefore, nursing interventions play a pivotal role in preventing patient injury related to hospital falls (Johnson et al. 2011). Unfortunately, the danger of falling rises with age and enormously affect one third of older people with ravages varying from minimal injury to incapacities, which may lead to premature death (Johnson et al. 2011). In addition, to the detrimental impacts on patient falls consequently affect the patient’s family members, care providers, and the health organization emotionally as well as financially (Ang et al. 2011). Even though falls in hospital affect young as well as older patients, the aged groups are more likely to get injured than the youth (Boltz et al. 2013). Devastating problems, which resulted from the falls, can c...
This Preusser (2008) case study involves a 75 year old female, S.P., who fell at home and is admitted to the orthopedic ward for an intracapsular fracture of the hip at the femoral neck (p. 183). Assessment data includes her height is 5’3”, weight is 118 lbs, blood pressure...
Patient falls is one of the commonest events within the healthcare facilities that affect the safety of the patients. Preventing falls among patients requires various methods. Recognition, evaluation, and preventing of patient falls are great challenges for healthcare workers in providing a safe environment in any healthcare setting. Hospitals have come together to understand the contributing factors of falls, and to decrease their occurrence and resulting injuries or death. Risk of falls among patients is considered as a safety indicator in healthcare institutions due to this. Falls and related injuries have consistently been associated with the quality of nursing care and are included as a nursing-quality indicator monitored by the American Nurses Association, National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators and by the National Quality Forum. (NCBI)
A primary care physician is one who has specialized education and training in general internal medicine, family practice, or another first-level-of-care area. Primary care physicians are those who provide patients with any/all of the following:
Q1. ROLES and RESPONSIBILITIES -find job description for a clinical nurse in orthopaedic ward, identify the characteristics of the role that is beyond the generic description of the role of the RN, that is, identify what makes the person specialist in the area. -how do they acquired the knowledge and skills that makes a specialist in the area. -identify what barriers they dealt with in the course of developing their specialty knowledge -key messages you learned from these conversations Orthopaedic nurses look after patients who suffer from musculoskeletal malfunctions and diseases.
Osteoporosis is a disease in which the bones become so weak and brittle that even a cough can cause enough stress on the bone that it will cause the bone to facture. The most commonly broken bones are the hip, wrist, and the spine. Although it affects men and women of all races, post-menopausal Caucasian and Asian women are more commonly affected than those of other ethnicities and sexes. In fact, thirty percent of all post-menopausal women in the US and Europe will be diagnosed with Osteoporosis and at least 40 percent of those will suffer from a fracture in their lifetime.
Fall is sudden, unpredicted, unintentional occurrence resulting in-patient landing on ground or at lower level. Falls and fall related injuries incur cost for the patient as well as the health cares system. The fall has a significant impact in patient quality of life and usually fall has many reasons to happen. Thus, preventing falls among patients in healthcare settings requires a complex approach, and recognition, evaluation and prevention of patient falls are significant challenges. Falls are a common cause of injury and the leading cause of nonfatal injuries and trauma-related hospitalizations in the United States (Barton, 2009). Falls occur in all types of healthcare institutions and to all patient populations. Up to 12% of hospitalized patients fall at least once during their hospital stay (Kalisch, Tschannen, & Lee, 2012). It has been using different strategies in many hospitals to prevent or at least to decrease the incidence of fall. However, the number of falls in the hospitals increases at alarming rate in the nation. The hospitals try to implement more efficient intervention strategies, but the number fall increase instead of decrease. In fact, many interventions to prevent falls and fall-related injuries require organized support and effective implementation for specific at risk and vulnerable subpopulations, such as the frail elderly and those at risk for injury.