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Falls and the Older Adult

2.0 Continuing Education Credit Hours

Category: 300 Advanced Concepts

Falls are the leading cause of injury-related visits by older adults to emergency rooms, and are the most common cause of non-fatal injuries that result in hospital admissions for older adults. Falls are also the leading cause of injury deaths in older adults. The rate of fall-related deaths among older adults has risen significantly over the past decade. In this module you will learn about age related changes, risk factors for falls, evaluation and interventions. Whether you are a social service or community provider, or a clinician providing direct care for older adults, you will find this module insightful as you consider this important quality of life issue of aging.

Author

Jennifer S. Browning, MS, RN, ANP-BC

Jennifer S. Browning, MS, RN, ANP-BC has been in the healthcare field for over 25 years as a clinical nurse specialist, educator, researcher, conference presenter, and publisher.  Jennifer received her B.S.N. and M.S. in nursing, and completed an Adult Nurse Practitioner Post-Master's Program at The Ohio State University.  Her interests include falls prevention and injury reduction, the ethical practice of the bedside clinician, the surgical and critical care throat assessment, and using complementary modalities at the bedside.  Jennifer has also made over 130 presentations throughout her career at a variety of gerontological, nursing, patient safety and other symposia, conferences, grand rounds, and more.  She has authored several publications and educational materials.  Currently Jennifer is a Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Division of Palliative Medicine at The Ohio State University Medical Center.  Outside of work, Jennifer is an avid runner and has participated in over 50 marathons nationwide.

Objectives

  1. Define the extent of the problem of older adults falling.
  2. Identify physical, mental, and environmental risk factors for falling.
  3. Identify and describe how age-related skeletal changes can affect an older adult's risk for falling.
  4. Recognize common chronic conditions and syndromes that increase risk factors for falling.
  5. Become familiar with the patient history and physical exam used by clinicians for assessing fall risk in the older patient.

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Online Module

When completing the on-line module you will be presented with learning objectives, brief cases, questions for reflection (not scored), and interactive lessons with hyperlinks to engage you along the way. Once you complete the lessons, you will be presented with the Post Test (which requires a score of 100%) and then the Module Evaluation, followed by the opportunity to print your Continuing Education Certificate. Modules remain available for your future reference once you have completed them.