Falls Among Older Persons with Dementia

“Fall may be defined as an unexpected event in which the person comes to rest on the ground, floor, or lower level” (Struksness, Lindström, Lord, Slaasletten, Johansson, et al., 2011). In older populations, falls are quite common, but with a mental illness such as dementia, the problem is worsened. This cross-sectional study showed that the most common causes of falls reported by nursing staff were individual factors like physical impairment and mental impairment.

Background:

Falls are a common cause of death for people over the age of 65. Following accidents, fall related mortality rate has relatively stayed constant over the last four decades. The dementia disorder continues to add an increase in fall-risk. Despite their knowledge about these conditions, nursing staffs have been unsuccessful mostly in their attempts to prevent falls among impaired cognition patients. The objective of this study was to get a thorough understanding of the nursing staff’s thoughts and opinions of falls in older patients who suffer from dementia. Causes of the falls, fall-preventing interventions, routines of documentation and reporting and the nurses experience from when the fall took place were also collected and used in this study (Struksness et al., 2011).

Caring for older people with dementia is a complex process and it needs careful assessments by qualified nursing staff. Different group of nurses were included in this study such as registered nurses (RNs) enrolled nurses (ENs), and few unskilled nurses aids. This study is significant to nursing, because it shows that ongoing comprehensive systematic assessment, documentation, and continuing education can prevent falls in older people with dementia (Struksness et al., 2011).

Method...

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...th dementia is complex and it needs careful assessments of risk for falls by qualified nursing staff. Ongoing comprehensive assessment, documentation and reporting can prevent fall in older people with dementia. The study shows that the people with dementia are at higher risk for fall and the challenges are increased for the nursing staffs that care for them. Nurses need to assess and understand the patient’s physical needs and provide the appropriate care by helping them with their ADL’s (Struksness et al., 2011).

Works Cited

Struksnes, Solveig, Margareta Bachrach Lindström, Marie Louise Hall Lord, Randi Slaasletten, and Inger Johansson. "The Nursing Staff’s Opinion of Falls among Older Persons with Dementia. a Cross-sectional Study." BMC Nursing 10.13 (2011): 1-9. BioMed Central. Web. .