richard

Nursing Students Student Assist

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what is the major cause of resident's fall? Is it lack of assistance to the residents by the family member while ambulating the resident?

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Normally dizziness or sight issues are the main problem with the elderly and falls.

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Specializes in IMCU.

My instructor tells us needing to pee (or poop). People will go to extraordinary lengths to not soil themselves. So while waiting to be assisted people get up themselves because they are desperate. Then, whether it is orthostatic hypotension, poor balance, altered gait, poor eyesight (whatever) it causes them to trip/fall.

Apparently a particularly bad time is when their foley has been d/c'd (after being in for a good while) and the time between urge and go is about nil. Usually they are d/c'd because someone is getting better and so the subsequently overestimate their strength. Boom! Floor pizza.

Never seen the stats on it though. Good question.

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Specializes in IMCU.

http://ageing.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/35/suppl_2/ii37.pdf

Scroll own in this document and it has a decent table.

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