Poster Sessions - 2018 Research Day
Adjusting Inpatient Physical Therapy Interventions to Address Fear of Falling in a 91 Year Old Hispanic Male Status Post Fall: A Retrospective Case Report
Type of Presentation
Poster Session
Location
Hall of Governors
Start Date
4-6-2018 4:00 PM
End Date
4-6-2018 5:30 PM
Abstract
Introduction: With falls in the elderly being an increasing epidemic in our country, investigation has begun as to what could have the largest influence on the prevalence or recurrence of falls. According to the CDC, “older Americans experienced 29 million falls causing seven million injuries and costing an estimated $31 billion in annual Medicare costs.”1 On top of the financial costs, falls are ranked as the 6th leading cause of death among this population.3
Methods: We related manual muscle test scores, gait distance, and numeric pain rating score to changes in scores on the falls efficacy scale(FES) to see if that could be correlated to functional gains or limitations according to the Functional independence measure.
Results: The patient was able to show improvements in quality measures scoring for the motor component from evaluation to discharge improving from total assist for transfers to contact guard assist. Also seen in our test and measures our patient left with a FES score of 35/100. It was curious that the only area that the patient scored a 10/10 meaning he was very fearful of performing the task was reaching into cabinets or closets. Discussion: There is a professional call to action to provide more patient centered care, therefore the patient’s quality of life should be something measured in all settings. Usage of the FES to focus on building confidence during transfers after a fall as opposed to strength, ambulation distance, or access to community resources seems to be a novel concept.
Identify Grant
Research was supported by GSU Office of Student Life
Adjusting Inpatient Physical Therapy Interventions to Address Fear of Falling in a 91 Year Old Hispanic Male Status Post Fall: A Retrospective Case Report
Hall of Governors
Introduction: With falls in the elderly being an increasing epidemic in our country, investigation has begun as to what could have the largest influence on the prevalence or recurrence of falls. According to the CDC, “older Americans experienced 29 million falls causing seven million injuries and costing an estimated $31 billion in annual Medicare costs.”1 On top of the financial costs, falls are ranked as the 6th leading cause of death among this population.3
Methods: We related manual muscle test scores, gait distance, and numeric pain rating score to changes in scores on the falls efficacy scale(FES) to see if that could be correlated to functional gains or limitations according to the Functional independence measure.
Results: The patient was able to show improvements in quality measures scoring for the motor component from evaluation to discharge improving from total assist for transfers to contact guard assist. Also seen in our test and measures our patient left with a FES score of 35/100. It was curious that the only area that the patient scored a 10/10 meaning he was very fearful of performing the task was reaching into cabinets or closets. Discussion: There is a professional call to action to provide more patient centered care, therefore the patient’s quality of life should be something measured in all settings. Usage of the FES to focus on building confidence during transfers after a fall as opposed to strength, ambulation distance, or access to community resources seems to be a novel concept.