Literature review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words - 1

Literature review - Essay Example Health Organization (WHO), 2007, p.1, defines falls as â€Å"inadvertently coming to rest on the ground, floor or other lower level, excluding intentional change in position to rest in furniture, walls or other objects†. As age increases so does the incidence of falls. Consequently it is the older people that face the brunt of the problem of falls, which is demonstrated by the incidence of falls being between 28 to 35% in people between 65 and 70 years and between 32 to 42% in people over the age of 70 years (The World Health Organization, 2007). Falls among the older population and the consequent injuries suffered are a major public health problem. The reason for this is that besides the enhanced frequency of falls in the elderly, such falls result in mild to severe injuries to the tune of 20 to 30%. This leads to more than 50% injury related hospitalization among the elderly and 10-15% emergency of all emergency department visits (The World Health Organization, 2007). In comparison to hospital stays for other injuries among the elderly, hospital stays due to injuries from falls are much longer. In the United Kingdom hospital admission rates owing to falls to individuals over the age of sixty is between 1.6 to 3.0 per 10,000 of the population and the emergency department visits as a result of falls in the elderly is between 5.5 to 8.9 per 10,000 of the population (The World Health Organization, 2007). In addition, to high hospitalization rates, falls in the elderly carry the higher risk of mortality, with falls being responsible for about 40% of all deaths from injuries to the elderly (The World Health Organization, 2007). Post-hospitalization complications can also arise in the form of post-fall syndrome that include the elements of dependence, loss of autonomy, immobilization and depression. This reduces the ability to perform daily activities, making them dependent on caregivers from the family. In the United Kingdom, the average earnings per annum lost on