Fall and Fall Intervention

Fall and Fall Intervention

Introduction and Background

Falls are frequent among the elderly population since the health of the individuals may be impaired.  Various environmental risks may pose a challenge to the society with the old age bracket. Falls are among the causative agents of severe conditions among older people in the community.  Some of the primary factors related to falls include muscle strength and balance ability. The factors imply occlusal conditions and occlusal forces.  As a result, the Japanese public health nurses have a role in ensuring that the elderly population does not sustain severe complications from falls. In this case, the nurses ensure a planning, implementation, and evaluation of the programs. Due to the increasing rate of adults experiencing falls and the risk in occlusal conditions, Eto & Miyauchi (2018) conducted a cross-sectional study to identify the relationship between occlusal force and falls in Japan.

The healthcare nurses conducted the cross-sectional descriptive Study in the communities with high number of dwellers of individuals in the older population in March 2014.  The Study entailed an extensive physical assessment of maximum occlusal force (MOF), handgrip strength, and maximum knee extensor strength in the City in southwestern Japan. Also, the researchers examined body sway as well as the ability of the individual to stand with one leg while the eyes are closed.  The descriptive study entailed the Study of the demographics of participants. In this case, the researcher examined the health status and previous fall experience by administering questionnaire.  The investigation required finding of measures of dispersions and central tendency among the population to determine the characteristics of the demographics.

Data Analysis

The researcher examined 159 people who were over 65 years old, independent and active. The research included 38 participants with a history of falls experience.  The researcher calculated mean scores and standard deviations to determine how the measurements of parameters are spread out from the average or the expected value. After that, the researchers conducted Mann-Whitney tests and regression analysis among the collected data. Mann-Whitney was utilized to measure the association between falls and MOF, maximum knees extensor strength as well as the handgrip strength. In particular the researchers examined the body sway with a 5-km/h moving image. The researchers performed statistical calculations and analysis using SPSS version 22.0. The studies were conducted under a significant level of less than five percent. The findings of the regression analysis revealed that the fall experience has a direct correlation with the MOF.

Review of Literature

Hirao et al. (2014) offer an insightful introduction about the goal of the investigation. The article focuses on the cognitive function of the older female population in a particular community.  The Study’s methodology focuses on the cognitive tasks to analyses the level of physical fitness between males and females. The method illustrates the association of physical fitness with the risk in the occlusal condition of different genders.  The occlusal force meter was incorporated to take measurements for the occlusal force.The literature review of the article offers a summary of agreements and disagreements of various authors in connection to occlusal forces. The statistical analysis incorporated examinations of relationships between occlusal forces. The findings of the data suggested the fact that there is an association between cognitive functions and the occlusal force. The inference of the article revealed insightful connections between MOF and falls.

The second article is Song‐Yu (2012) that offered information about the relationship between postural stability and occlusal status.  According to the article’s background, there is limited data that illustrates the relationship between the occlusal condition and postural stability. However, the article suggests that there is a need to work on the research that associates the two.  The main target population of the Study is the elderly Japanese. The investigation involved a cohort study to assess and examine occlusal status and postural stability among the population. The methodology aligned with the objective of the Study through the analysis of the previous experiences of the elderly Japanese to determine the occlusal status. Also, the article administered questionnaires among the sample population to establish a valid conclusion about the link between postural status and MOF. The data analysis and findings reveal that the condition is statistically higher among the females as compared to their male counterparts. The conclusion and recommendation of the articles confirm the studies within the content.

Quantitative: Conclusion

According to the investigation, the Study conducted by the public health nursing researcher to identify the link between falls and MOF in the community residing in Japan was the first one.  According to the findings of the study, the maximum occlusal force had a significant association with other physical assessments. The inference suggested that the MOFs assessment by the public health nurses could contribute to the prediction of risk factors for falls among the population dwelling in the community. As a recommendation for the Study, nurses should incorporate occlusal force assessment tools at the periodical community checkups. The suggestions could be practical for maintaining community awareness.

Quantitative: Protection and Consideration

The Ethical Consideration requires that the participants are informed of their rights and how they could be protected through enhancing anonymity.  The research discusses the intellectual property frankly.  The investigation is conscious of the multiple roles according to the APA ethics codes. The analysis included 159 participants from Southeastern Japan. The study followed informed consent rules. Also, the researchers assured the participants of maintaining anonymity during the exercise.  The participants were advised to stop their participation in the activity at any time. According to the article, participants, researchers and the instruments of work were provided with insurance.  According to the author’s the University’s institutional review board formally approved the exercise.

Quantitative: Strength and Limitation

Studies identify various researchers due to the use of samples from a specific population. Through the quantitative Study, the researcher can get a statistical validation of the inferences.

On the other hand, the Study was limited due to the use of a small sample of people from one Japanese City.  Elderly people in various regions have different experiences and the demographic characteristics do not precisely reflect the population of the Japanese elderly population.  As a result, it is inappropriate to generalize the findings for the whole Japanese community. The Study incorporated a cross-sectional survey approach in a small population sample.  Therefore, the study design cannot be utilized when referring to the cause and effects of falls and MOF.  In such cases, there is a need for a follow-up cohort study to determine a link between cause-effects and the change falls and MOF.