Minnesota

Introduction

It has been researched by Minnesota Department of Health that most of the injuries in the elderly are caused due to falls. Moreover, it also includes the elders who are disabled. Therefore, the death rate in Minnesota with reference to elderly falls is one and one-half times greater than the national rate. This is because elderly falls are considered as number one cause that results in deaths in Minnesota mainly because of trauma. Besides this, they are also one of the most expensive injuries because of their hospital charges that are high for all the elderly people who fall. Serious injuries have occurred due to falls in the elderly people in Minnesota which has also been studied by the Disability Service Division. These have resulted in fractures as well as visits to emergency room. Therefore, they negatively impact the quality of life of the elderly people.

Risk Factors for Falls

Some of the common risk factors that are involved with falls are mentioned below.

Environmental factors

Fear of falling

Having already fallen once

Limited physical strength and balance

Usage of certain medications

Impairment of the vision

Problems and Solutions

The causes of falls are known as risk factors. Since there is no single factor that is responsible for falls, the more the elders are exposed the risk factors, the probability of falling is higher. This also threatens the independence of a person. Although there are many risk factors that can be prevented, the elderly needs to be made aware of the risk factors in order to reduce the falls in homes, assisted living and nursing homes. The five key risk factors that are involved with falling and the problems and solution associated with them are mentioned below.

Osteoporosis

Problem

In this condition, the bones become absorbent, their resistance to stress reduces and they become more prone to fractures. This happens mainly because of hormonal changes that take place in the bodies. Another reason is the deficiency of vitamin D and calcium that occurring the bodies of the elderly people. This is more common in the women than in the men. Therefore, falls are caused when the bones become brittle and bone density also reduces which causes the fall and results in injuries (Barber & Tremblay, pp.1).

Solutions

It has also been researched by group of individuals who found out that an adequate intake of Vitamin D can help in reducing falls in the elderly people at homes, assisted living or nursing homes. This is termed by the researchers as “sunshine vitamin. However, during Minnesota winter, it is very hard to get this vitamin from diet. Therefore, health care supplementation should be asked for by the health care provider. Moreover, the elderly people should also consume food that has rich sources of calcium. This type of food includes fortified cereals and fruit juices. Moreover, dark green leafy vegetables and canned fish with soft bones also contain calcium. 1,500 mg of calcium should be consumed by postmenopausal women every day. Moreover, weight-bearing exercises should be done on a regular basis to prevent ...