L15: Falls in Older People Part 2 Flashcards
What are 8 falls risk factors?
What 4 psychological risk factors?
- Dementia/Alzheimer’s
- Depression
- Delirum
- Fear of falling
What are 3 reasons why older people with dementia is a risk for falls?
- 70-80% will fall each year (x2 incidence of cognitively intact)
- x3 increased risk of sustaining a fracture
- Fallers with dementia: x5 more likely to be institutionalised
What test is used to diagnose the level of dementia?
What are 5 risk factors for people that are cognitively intacted, with particular relevance in old people with dementia?
- Postural instability (impairment of gait and balance) both static and dynamic
- Medication- particularly psychotrophics
- Neurocardiovascular instability (orthostatic hypotension)
- Environmental fall hazard
- Visual impairment
What are 3 risk factors specific to older people with cognitive impairment dementia?
- Wandering (eg. residents leaving there aged-care facility)
- Agitation or aggression
- Perceptual difficulties
What are 5 characteristics that will be seen in a dementia patient’s chart?
- Agitation
- Tendency to wander
- Behavioural problems ◦ → Psychotropic drugs
- Perceptual deficits
- ↓Visuospatial awareness
- ↓ Fear
- Inability to deal with environmental hazards
What are 4 gait impairments in older people with dementia?
- Slower walking speed
- Reduced step frequency
- Shorter step length
- Increased postural flexion
What are 5 balance impairments in older people with dementia?
- Increased double support time
- Increased sway path (in ant/post and medial/lateral directions
- Increased unsteadiness
- Impaired one/two leg balance, eyes open/closed
- Poor dual tasking
There is a relationship between ______, falls, #
depression
Depression is associated with post-________decline in function after fall
discharge
What are the 3 impacts of depression on physical activity?
Reduced physical activity
- ↓ Muscle strength
- ↓ Coordination
- ↓ Balance
Antidepressant ______are also a risk factor for falls.
medications
What is the test that can be used to test geriatric depression?
What are 3 characteristics of delirium?
- Medical emergency
- Rapid onset (usually hours/days)
- Variable & fluctuating changes in mental status
Why is delirium a risk factor for falls?
Risk factor for falls in hospitalised older people:
- 14-24% prevalence on admission
- 6-56% incidence during hospital stay
- 15-53% postoperatively
When do patients shows delirium?
- Prior to a heart ache, patient will show delirium
- Presented when there is low quality of care (eg. dehydration since nurses are busy)
What are 7 predisposing factors for delirium?
- existing cognitive impairment, (eg. dementia)
- Depression
- Age 70 years and older
- Visual impairment
- Hearing impairment
- History of alcohol abuse
- Previous episode of delirium
What are 8 precipitating factors for delirium?
- Malnutrition
- Dehydration
- Addition of 3+ medication during hospitalisation
- Severe medical illness (eg. heart attack)
- Infection
- Abnormal serum sodium
- Use of indwelling catheter
- Use of mechanical restraint
Why is the use of mechanical restraint or indwelling catheter a risk for delirium?
more restrained position –> increase agitation
What are the 4 characteristics of delirium?
- Unable to negotiate environment
- Poor Balance
- Muscle Weakness
- Postural Hypotension
What are 5 independent predictors of adverse outcomes?
- Decreased functional levels
- Increased mortality
- Incontinence
- Increase falls
- Pressure sores
What is the fear of falling?
‘Ongoing concern about falling that ultimately limits performance of ADLs’
What are 4 features that the fear of falling is associated with?
- Previous Falls
- Poor Health Status
- Functional Decline
- Frailty
What are 6 features that fear of falling correlates to?
- Activity Restriction
- Quality of Life
- Pain
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Social Isolation
What are 4 features that the falls efficacy is associated with?
- ↓ Leaning balance
- Poor Strength
- ↓ Physical performance
- Impaired gait:
- ↓ Stride length
- ↓ Speed
- ↑ Double-support time
What is falls efficacy?
‘Perceived ability to confidently undertake ADLs without falling’
What are 3 characteristics of impaired gait due to falls efficacy?
- ↓ Stride length
- ↓ Speed
- ↑ Double-support time
What test is used to determine the level of fear of falling?
The Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale
What are 2 test is used to determine the level of falls efficacy?
- Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I)
- Iconographical Falls Efficacy Scale
What is the Iconographical Falls Efficacy Scale?
Using visual cards –> activities are present –> help them to imagine the content and put themselves in the position
What is the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I)?