Guidelines for Preventing Falls of Elderly Patients in Hospitals

Abstract

Falls are a major public health problem. It is the second leading cause of death after road accident injuries. In elderly patients, it was found that there are two risk factors that cause falls, which are internal factors and external factors, the internal factors of a person are physical and mental. Studies have shown that females are more prone to falls than males, because females have less muscle strength than males causing imbalance. As for external factors, it was found that the major risk factors is that the elderly have many common ailments resulting in receiving multiple drugs at the same time may cause various side effects on the nervous system and cardiovascular system, and this can cause the elderly more vulnerable to falls. There were no practical guidelines to prevent such issue. However, the care and surveillance of elderly patients in the hospital is important, to ensure patients’ safety and reduce the loss of patients, families and the overall economy. Therefore, this article aimed to present on fall prevention practices for elderly patients in hospitals which this will be a guideline for caring for elderly patients, for the quality of service and the safety of elderly patients, it is considered the heart of service in Thailand 4.0 era.