Injuries from Fall and Transitional Care

Question: Discuss about the Injuries from Fall and Transitional Care. Answer: Introduction: Fall is an event which inadvertently causes a person to rest on the ground or other lower level. Falls are the second leading cause of accidental injuries worldwide. 37.3 million fall injuries are severe enough to require medical attention and are most frequently observed in older adults (age greater than 65) (Falls, 2016). Fractures such as Hip fracture, Leg fracture, Spine, rib and pelvis fracture, Intracranial injuries are the most common ones. Other fractures not as frequent include Arm fracture, Skull and face fracture, etc. Other injuries include Crushing injuries or internal injuries, open wounds of head, neck and trunk, Joint disorders, dislocation because of trauma and spinal cord injury (Russo, Owens Stocks, 2006). Spinal injuries include both Cervical as well as lumbar injuries. Also, Musculoskeletal injuries sustained can be in Upper extremity, Pelvic area as well as Lower extremity (Rozycki Maull, 1991). A major cause of concern in case of post-fall hospitalization in older individuals is rehospitalisation within 1-6 months of discharge. Whenever there arises a situation when a person has to be shifted from 1 level of health care and another as well as has to be shifted across care settings, transition care comes into play. Most common form of transition care is the one given when an individual is transferred from a hospital to his home for further care and convalescence (Naylor Keating, 2008). Transition care is especially important in case of older adults who suffer from multiple chronic conditions and complex therapeutic regimens and their family members who need to take care of such individuals. References Falls. (2016). Media Centre. WHO. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs344/en/ Naylor, M., Keating, S. A. (2008). Transitional Care: Moving patients from one care setting to another. Author manuscript. PMC. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2768550/ Rozycki, G. S., Maull, K. I. (1991). Injuries sustained by falls. Archives of emergency medicine, 8(4), 245-252. Russo, C. A., Owens, P. L., Stocks, C. (2006). Common Injuries That Result in Hospitalization, 2004, Retrieved from https://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb19.pdf