Reducing Medication to Prevent Falls in Elderly Nursing Home Residents

Abstract

Instructor’s Name Drug-Related Falls Prevention and Intervention for the Elderly Drug-related falls are a major cause of injuries among the aging population of 65-year-old and above. Older adults are increasing periodically due to the high life expectancy. Medication has been linked to an increased risk of falls. Reducing the number of medications in elderly patients reduces the risks of falls. Clinical Question Falls among the elderly population due to medication are associated with high mortality and morbidity rates and this issue is gaining concern among many researchers making it a prominent issue in the public domain in recent times. The PICOT question formulated by the group is: In the nursing home population of 65years and older, does decreasing the number of medications in elderly patients decrease the number of falls compared to patients who take multiple medications within six months? My PICOT question is defined as follows: Population: Elderly above 65 years old Intervention: Reduction of Medication Comparison: Patients taking multiple medications for six months Outcomes: Decrease in the number of falls for the elderly population. This paper aims to analyze two critical articles that could be useful for this group’s topic on falls prevention and intervention in the elderly. Literature Review (Findings). According to (Vu et al., 2017), each year, millions of elderly populations fall and falling doubles the chance of falling again. Falls are characterized by the inability to walk, or stand up without assistance, the need for toilet assistance and blurred vision. Drugs are a major risk factor for falls in the elderly. Adverse drug reactions contribute to hospitalization and higher morbidity and mortality rates. Drug-related side effects place the elderly in a vulnerable position. According to (Johnstone 2018), the elderly at the age of 60 use at least one drug daily. This analogy confirms the prevalence of drugs in the elderly population. Research shows that there is a strong correlation between medication and patient safety. According to (Park et al. 2020), the current prescription of antithrombotic, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory, or antiparkinsonian drugs, muscle relaxants, antiepileptics, antipsychotics, antidepressants, opioids, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and memantine was also associated with an increased risk of falling. These drugs are associated with a fall in blood pressure. Most aging individuals experience a fall in blood pressure when they stand and are triggered by medication causing falls. The drugs suppress the central nervous system restricting movements making the aged susceptible to falls. Some of these medications are very serious risk falls to the elderly who are the most vulnerable. According to (Houser 2018), evidence-based practice of risks of falls can help prevent harm to the patient. This relates to risks of falls in the elderly population through reduction of medication dosage for better outcomes. Level of Evidence The level of evidence used to address this research is the quantitative method, the case-controlled study. Participants in the study by Park et al. 2020, were residents from Japan Nursing homes of a population of at least 65 years old...