Set bed alarms to prevent fall among elderly patients

Set bed alarms to prevent fall among elderly patients
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Set bed alarms to prevent fall among elderly patients
Introduction
In healthcare, a fall is identified as an episode that causes a patient to involuntarily come to rest on the hospital’s floor. Even in situations where the fall causes no harm, it can still cause anxiety and distress to patients and hospital staff leading to restricted movement due to the fear of falling. Falls are prevalent in elderly patients because of their poor eyesight, hearing, physical condition, and weak balance. About 35% of patients who are 65 and beyond fall 2 to 4 times yearly while 42% of those who are 70 years and above fall 5 to 7 times, (World Health Organization, 2015).
Significance
1. Cost – according to Florence et al. (2018), approximately $50 billion is spent on non-fatal fall injuries experienced by elderly patients while $754 million is spent on treating fatal injuries.
2. Increased risk of death – injury-related deaths in older patients are mainly caused by falls. In patients who are 65 and beyond, the rate of fall deaths is 62 deaths per 100,000 patients. In those who are 85 years and above, the rate is 4% per year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015).
3. Increased length of stay – any type of fall extends the duration of stay despite the severity of the injury sustained. In elderly patients, non-fatal falls may increase their st...