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The patient who falls: "It's always a trade-off".

ABSTRACT: Falls are common health events that cause discomfort and disability for older adults and stress for caregivers. Using the case of an older man who has experienced multiple falls and a hip fracture, this article, which focuses on community-living older adults, addresses the consequences and etiology of falls; summarizes the evidence on predisposing factors and effective interventions; and discusses how to translate this evidence into patient care. Previous falls; strength, gait, and balance impairments; and medications are the strongest risk factors for falling. Effective single interventions include exercise and physical therapy, cataract surgery, and medication reduction. Evidence suggests that the most effective strategy for reducing the rate of falling in community-living older adults may be intervening on multiple risk factors. Vitamin D has the strongest clinical trial evidence of benefit for preventing fractures among older men at risk. Issues involved in incorporating these evidence-based fall prevention interventions into outpatient practice are discussed, as are the trade-offs inherent in managing older patients at risk of falling. While challenges and barriers exist, fall prevention strategies can be incorporated into clinical practice.

SUBMITTER: Tinetti ME

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3740370 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The patient who falls: "It's always a trade-off".

Tinetti Mary E ME Kumar Chandrika C

JAMA 20100101 3

Falls are common health events that cause discomfort and disability for older adults and stress for caregivers. Using the case of an older man who has experienced multiple falls and a hip fracture, this article, which focuses on community-living older adults, addresses the consequences and etiology of falls; summarizes the evidence on predisposing factors and effective interventions; and discusses how to translate this evidence into patient care. Previous falls; strength, gait, and balance impai ...[more]

PMID: 20085954

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Project description:ObjectivesTen per cent of patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer undergo pancreaticoduodenectomy. There is limited previous research focusing on psychological well-being; unmet support needs impact negatively on quality of life. This paper reports the psychological impact of a pancreatic cancer diagnosis and subsequent pancreaticoduodenectomy, exploring how patients' lives alter following surgery and how they seek support.DesignInductive qualitative study involving in-depth semistructured interviews with 20 participants who had undergone pancreaticoduodenectomy for pancreatic or distal biliary duct cancer. Interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed and anonymised, and thematic analysis used principles of constant comparison.SettingSingle National Health Service Trust in Northwest England.ParticipantsPatients were eligible for inclusion if they had had pancreaticoduodenectomy for head of pancreas cancer, periampullary cancer or distal cholangiocarcinoma between 6 months and 6 years previously, and had completed adjuvant chemotherapy.ResultsAnalysis identified the following main themes: diagnosis and decision making around surgery; recovery from surgery and chemotherapy; burden of monitoring and ongoing symptoms; adjusting to 'a new normal'; understanding around prognosis; support-seeking. Participants seized the chance to have surgery, often without seeming to absorb the risks or their prognosis. They perceived that they were unable to control their life trajectory and, although they valued close monitoring, experienced anxiety around their appointments. Participants expressed uncertainty about whether they would be able to return to their former activities. There were tensions in their comments about support-seeking, but most felt that emotional support should be offered proactively.ConclusionsPatients should be made aware of potential psychological sequelae, and that treatment completion may trigger the need for more support. Clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) were identified as key members of the team in proactively offering support; further training for CNSs should be encouraged. Understanding patients' experience of living with cancer and the impact of treatment is crucial in enabling the development of improved support interventions.

Project description:BackgroundPatient monitoring is critical for perioperative patient safety as anesthesiologists routinely make crucial therapeutic decisions from the information displayed on patient monitors. Previous research has shown that today's patient monitoring has room for improvement in areas such as information overload and alarm fatigue. The rationale of this study was to learn more about the problems anesthesiologists face in patient monitoring and to derive improvement suggestions for next-generation patient monitors.MethodsWe conducted a two-center qualitative/quantitative study. Initially, we interviewed 120 anesthesiologists (physicians and nurses) about the topic: common problems with patient monitoring in your daily work. Through deductive and inductive coding, we identified major topics and sub themes from the interviews. In a second step, a field survey, a separate group of 25 anesthesiologists rated their agree- or disagreement with central statements created for all identified major topics.ResultsWe identified the following six main topics: 1. "Alarms," 2. "Artifacts," 3. "Software," 4. "Hardware," 5. "Human Factors," 6. "System Factors," and 17 sub themes. The central statements rated for the major topics were: 1. "problems with alarm settings complicate patient monitoring." (56% agreed) 2. "artifacts complicate the assessment of the situation." (64% agreed) 3. "information overload makes it difficult to get an overview quickly." (56% agreed) 4. "problems with cables complicate working with patient monitors." (92% agreed) 5. "factors related to human performance lead to critical information not being perceived." (88% agreed) 6. "Switching between monitors from different manufacturers is difficult." (88% agreed). The ratings of all statements differed significantly from neutral (all p < 0.03).ConclusionThis study provides an overview of the problems anesthesiologists face in patient monitoring. Some of the issues, to our knowledge, were not previously identified as common problems in patient monitoring, e.g., hardware problems (e.g., cable entanglement and worn connectors), human factor aspects (e.g., fatigue and distractions), and systemic factor aspects (e.g., insufficient standardization between manufacturers). An ideal monitor should transfer the relevant patient monitoring information as efficiently as possible, prevent false positive alarms, and use technologies designed to improve the problems in patient monitoring.

Project description:BackgroundHospital falls remain a frequent and debilitating problem worldwide. Most hospital falls prevention strategies have targeted clinician education, environmental modifications, assistive devices, hospital systems and medication reviews. The role that patients can play in preventing falls whilst in hospital has received less attention. This critical review scopes patient falls education interventions for hospitals. The quality of the educational designs under-pinning patient falls education programmes was also evaluated. The outcomes of patient-centred falls prevention programs were considered for a range of hospital settings and diagnoses.MethodsThe Arksey and O'Malley (2005) framework for scoping reviews was adapted using Joanna Briggs Institute and PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Eight databases, including grey literature, were searched from January 2008 until February 2020. Two reviewers independently screened the articles and data were extracted and summarised thematically. The quality of falls prevention education programs for patients was also appraised using a modified quality metric tool.ResultsForty-three articles were included in the final analysis. The interventions included: (i) direct face-to-face patient education about falls risks and mitigation; (ii) educational tools; (iii) patient-focussed consumer materials such as pamphlets, brochures and handouts; and (iv) hospital systems, policies and procedures to assist patients to prevent falls. The included studies assessed falls or education related outcomes before and after patient falls prevention education. Few studies reported incorporating education design principles or educational theories. When reported, most educational programs were of low to moderate quality from an educational design perspective.ConclusionsThere is emerging evidence that hospital falls prevention interventions that incorporate patient education can reduce falls and associated injuries such as bruising, lacerations or fractures. The design, mode of delivery and quality of educational design influence outcomes. Well-designed education programs can improve knowledge and self-perception of risk, empowering patients to reduce their risk of falling whilst in hospital.

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The patient who falls: "It's always a trade-off".

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The patient who falls: "It's always a trade-off".

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