Understanding falling incidents in older adults Essay

Understanding falling incidents in older adults - Essay Example This is a critical appraisal of two research papers which reflect studies in the problems of falling as issues for older adults. The two papers to be critically appraised are ‘Moving Forward in Fall Prevention: An Intervention to Improve Balance Among Older Adults in Real-World Settings’ (Robitaille et al. 2005) and ‘A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Multifactorial Falls Prevention Intervention for Older Fallers Presenting to Emergency Departments’ by Russell et al. (2010). These papers were chosen because they represent an aspect of my field of practice – working with older adults. The paper is divided into five sections: Part I: the Introduction; Part II: Methodology of Selection for the papers chosen for this study; Part III: Critical Summaries which outlines the purpose, structure and results of the studies; Part IV: Discussion of Findings which provides the results and the why of the results; and Part V: Personal Reflection which provides inform ation on how this paper and the studies relate to my field of practice.When mature adults move into the senior years, there are a number of functions that begin to slow down and one of these is the ability to recover from a stumble, or tripping over an object. Regaining one’s balance is harder because reaction time in physical recovery is slower (Sollitto 2013). Loss of muscle structure is also a key component which is obviously evident when older adults exercise less because they tire more often or may have some underlying illness. As vision deteriorates with age, perception of distance and depth may also cause problems, particularly when using bifocal or trifocal where looking quickly over the glass lens can change the focus of depth to something that it is not (Sollitto 2013). Falling down can also cause fractured or broken bones because older bones are more brittle. They also will not heal as easily, and it is important to provide nutritional information and appropriate m edical intervention to keep the elder adult healthy with quality of life (Sollitto 2013). Part II: Methodology of Selection The selection for determining the papers used in this research required that the studies had to have been done within the past decade, 2003-2013. This would provide more information that utilized the latest in research skills, study design and data analysis of the study results. Several medical websites such as COCHRANE, PubMed and other journal repositories, were used in the search process along with specific search terms in order to pull studies that reflected the subject matter of senior adults and falling issues. Internet Research, Search Terms and Papers Website Search Terms Used Papers Reviewed – Not Used COCHRANE Library ‘old people falling ratios,’ ‘research studies on falls by the elderly’ ‘Population-based interventions for the prevention of fall-related injuries in older people’, McClure et al. (2008). Pu bMed ‘falling down statistics in elderly’, ‘balance research in falls’ ‘Peculiarities of postural balance among elderly men with fear of falling syndrome’, Gerontol (2012). Amedeo - Medical Literature Guide ‘elderly falling ratios’, ‘balance problems in elderly’ ‘Reliability and validity of the Persian lower extremity functional scale