Falling continues to be a critical public health issue for older adults, with approximately one-third of persons aged 65 years and older falling each year (Reis da Silva, 2023a). That is a shocking statistic, evidencing just how vulnerable this population truly is, with falls having severe consequences such as fractures, head injury, and long-term disability. Thus, it has a deep impact on the quality of life of the older person, physical pain, emotional distress, and loss of independence. However, despite the presence of falls prevention strategies, reducing incidences of falls remains a complicated challenge given that the problem is multifactorial (Reis da Silva, 2023a; Reis da Silva, 2024).
The reason being complex includes the fact that many factors contribute to the risks for falls. The risk of falls is not only associated with physical decline but encompasses environmental, clinical, and cognitive aspects as well. These include types of housing, footwear, trip hazards within the home, arthritis, impaired vision, and cognitive impairment, among the common chronic conditions that enhance falling in this population. Potential medication side effects also exist to include problems with balance or dizziness, especially from sedatives or medications to treat blood pressure. Treatment of these risk factors should be done through comprehensive and individualised care; this involves multidisciplinary health professionals for proper management.
Nursing plays an essential role in falls prevention, especially in driving the person-centred approach in care. The nurse is often the closest to the older adult during regular health evaluations to identify early risks for falls. Their role would extend to medication reviews and encouragement of physical activities while educating both patients and caregivers about falls prevention. For example, nurses can teach the older adult about how to perform strength and balance training exercises that improve muscle function and coordination. Nurses can also support the older adult to receive regular vision and hearing tests as impairments in these senses are also major contributing factors for falls (Reis da Silva, 2024).
Other essential aspects of nursing intervention include modification of the environment. Nurses advocate for home modifications such as grab bars, removal of tripping hazards, and improvement of lighting to reduce the risk of falls at home. Education is also a component of nursing care in which knowledge is provided to the older adult and their caregivers that empowers them to prevent falls through lifestyle modification and knowledge of potential hazards (Reis da Silva, 2023b).
The prevention of falls requires a multi-professional contribution of all healthcare professionals, caregivers, and older adults themselves. Because of their multiple roles and patient-centred approach to care, nurses are in the best position to provide leadership toward reducing fall rates, which, in turn, improves the quality of life in older adults and contributes to lessening the burden of healthcare systems.
