Health Teaching Project: Fall Prevention

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Health Teaching Project: Fall Prevention I have interacted and conducted educational sessions with elderly patients presenting numerous health conditions. In one instance, I interacted with a 54-year-old Hispanic woman suffering from diabetes, hypertension and arthritis. The patient’s primary language was Spanish though she communicated effectively in the English language. The patient was bedridden and had barriers placed on her bed. The older woman was frail but in high spirits. This client's health needs included improved blood pressure, reduced risk of fall, increased mobility and pain reduction.

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The client pointed out that she was not aware of the reason for placing barriers on her bed. However, fall risk assessment indicated that she was a fall-risk patient. The risk of falling is higher among elderly persons with chronic conditions that require multiple medications. The client was at risk of falling since she was taking various medications including antihypertensives, pain-relievers, and antidiabetics (Avers & Wong, 2019). I used the Morse Fall Scale to assess the patient’s risk of fall. The client has a score of 51 indicating she is at a high-risk level. I realized that the older woman was aware of the heightened risk of falls. She was not well informed of the best preventive measures. There was a compelling need to educate the client on fall prevention.

The first step in the educational project was to identify this client's knowledge deficit concerning the risk of fall. The information obtained from the interview was integrated into patient education to increase awareness of fall risk and prevention strategies. I applied therapeutic communication approaches to enhance interaction with the client. This communication strategy demonstrates caring behaviors and increases trust with the client (LoBiondo-Wood, Haber & Titler, 2018). Communication is a vital element in interviews and patient education programs. Effective communication made it easier to connect with the patient and share essential information concerning patient falls.

The next step was to educate the client on various strategies to avert the risk of falls. The client was informed of the negative health consequences of falls. She was also informed of the most effective strategies to prevent falls including using walking aids, moving slowly, turning on lights, resting when feeling dizzy, and asking for assistance from nurses and family members (Morse et al., 2015). She was also advised to be cautious of medications that cause dizziness.

During this session, the client was given a chance to ask questions on complex issues regarding the risk and prevention of falls. The patient was not aware of the rationale for placing barriers on

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her bed. She was informed that bed-rails reduce fall risk among elderly patients. She was also provided with brochures highlights various aspects of fall prevention.

A patient evaluation was conducted at the end of the training session to determine if she had acquired new knowledge regarding fall prevention. A structured questionnaire was applied to gather details concerning the client’s perception of the educational project, her knowledge of falls, and her desire to participate in fall prevention activities.

The lesson learned from the educational project is that many elderly patients are fearful of falling but do not know the most appropriate ways to prevent falls. It is important to educate elderly persons on fall and fall prevention to prevent devastating eventualities.

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References: Morse, J. M., Gervais, P., Pooler, C., Merryweather, A., Doig, A. K., & Bloswick, D. (2015).

The Safety of Hospital Beds: Ingress, Egress, and In-Bed Mobility. Global Qualitative Nursing Research, 2, 2333393615575321. https://doi.org/10.1177/2333393615575321 Avers, D., & Wong, R. (2019). Guccione's Geriatric Physical Therapy E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.

LoBiondo-Wood, G., Haber, J., & Titler, M. G. (2018). Evidence-Based Practice for Nursing and Healthcare Quality Improvement-E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.