Introduction
This essay is based on the article by Loganathan, Tan, and Low (2015), which is entitled “Barriers faced by healthcare professionals when managing falls in older people in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: A qualitative study”. The nursing research article is based on the topic of ‘elders fall prevention’. The essay offers answers to a set of questions.
Answers
Article
The nursing research article is a qualitative study
Problem and Purpose
The level of incidence of falls among the elderly people in low to middle-income nations differs from 10 percent to 54 percent with about 46 percent necessitating medical care after falling. Low and middle-income nations encounter a speedy increase in the number of elderly individuals in their population, and additional medical care is required to counter the rising demand. Fall prevention amid the elderly is intricate due to their multifactorial qualities.
Regardless of the existence of successful interventions for the management of falls amid the elderly individuals, for instance, multi-element exercises, home risk adjustments, prescription evaluations, and comprehensive fall intervention approaches, medical practitioners might not be ready to manage them within the society because of different challenges. Moreover, the majority of fallers fail to seek health care.
The purpose of the research article was to identify the hindrances encountered by caregivers when preventing falls among the elderly. Seeking the opinions of healthcare professionals on difficulties in the prevention of falls among the elderly helped in the determination of the best means of triumphing over the challenges and offered awareness into the establishment of successful fall prevention programs.
Objective
The objective of the study was to discover the obstacles troubling healthcare professionals while seeking to manage falls among older individuals (from sixty years of age) who have an elevated likelihood of falling.
Design
The qualitative methodology consisted of ten detailed interviews and a couple of focus group discussions. Semi-structured questions were employed, and the interviews were recorded.
Modeling
The design was modeled from previous studies. This is because many of the quantitative and qualitative studies referred to in the article were carried out on hindrances to the prevention of falls in the medical field. Previous studies on aspects related to poor fall hazard appraisal and prevention have centered on the influence of outreach education intervention and the execution of fall prevention practices.
Procedure
Focus group discussions were undertaken to assess hindrances toward fall prevention by healthcare professionals. The discussions entailed six to eleven individuals and permitted individuals to mull over their opinions with respect to others’ perceptions. Detailed face-to-face interviews were conducted for healthcare professionals who were not able to join the focus group discussions due to time limitations and different tasks. Data was held in the recorder and later transcribed verbatim after which it was checked for correctness.
Instruments
The instruments and measurement strategies employed in data collection included audio recorders and questionnaires.
Data Analysis
The qualitative method of data analysis was used to analyze the collected data with the help of WeftQDA software. Thematic analysis assisted in the establishment of major themes.
Appropriateness
The procedure of data collection and analysis were not fitting to the research design and objective. This is because one of the focus groups had just four participants, which is an inadequate group size as it could have negatively affected the group dynamics. Moreover, just the views of healthcare professionals were considered in the research. Nevertheless, the opinions and perceptions of elderly individuals are equally paramount for effective prevention of falls and ought to have been sought.
Conclusion
The nursing research article established the hindrances that result in poor fall prevention amid elderly individuals who have a high probability of falling. The results of the study call for evidence-based planned fall prevention interventions targeting both patients and healthcare professionals.
Reference
Loganathan, A., Ng, C. J., Tan, M. P., & Low, W. Y. (2015). Barriers faced by healthcare professionals when managing falls in older people in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: A qualitative study. BMJ Open, 5(11), 1-8.