Dementia can be described as a group of thinking and social symptoms that greatly interfere with the daily functioning of an individual. Patients will normally present with forgetfulness. This condition also greatly impacts both their social well-being and thought forming capabilities (Ng et al., 2019). The condition greatly impacts individuals aged sixty-five years and above mostly. Medication and therapy play a critical part in the management of this condition.
The occurrence of falls in patients with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia is common. People with these conditions are three times more likely to experience hip fractures from a fall when compared to other people (Mosk et al., 2017). The result of these fractures is immobility and resultant surgeries. The mortality rate in people with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia secondary to a fall is estimated to be greater than in other individuals (Jeon et al., 2019). This information clearly proves the severity of this condition and indicates the need to strongly implement interventions aimed at reducing and preventing falls in patients with dementia.
The exact number of people with dementia in Australia is currently unknown. An estimate, however, placed the number of people with dementia at a figure between four hundred thousand and four hundred and sixty thousand in 2020 (Livingston et al., 2020). This figure is expected to increase to approximately five hundred and ninety thousand people by the year 2030. These figures demonstrate the great urgency to deal with the problem of dementia.
The increased rate of fall in patients with dementia further solidifies the need to address the issue. Falls in people with dementia greatly increase the morbidity and mortality rates consequently increasing medical costs. Therefore, there is need to address this issue.
There are several risk factors associated with falls in dementia patients. Some of the commonest risk factors include physical weakness and lack of balance, impaired memory, poor judgement, pain and discomfort, a need to use the bathroom among others (Harrison et al., 2020). The reason why I selected nurses as my target audience is because they spend more time with the patients and are better placed in the formulation of interventions geared towards the prevention of falls in patients with dementia.
Nurses spend a majority of time with patients. This means that they are capable of picking up on any pain or discomfort that the patient may be feeling. As noted earlier, pain and discomfort which consequently forces patients to move is one of the commonest causes of falls (Kim et al., 2017). The nurse therefore, has ample time and ability to note any pain being experienced by patients and ensure that the situation is dealt with to prevent further crisis later on.
Nursing staff are required to assess and assist people aged 65 and over with their daily activities. This is dependent on the patient’s ability to function normally (Mailhot-Bisson, 2018). While caring for elderly, nurses are regularly involved in activities such as cleaning them and aiding them to access facilities such as the bathroom. As the target audience of the poster, nurses can fully grasp the magnitude of the ability they have in the prevention of falls in patients by constantly being available to offer help.
Nursing staff play a critical role in ensuring that patients live in organized, tidy and well-li rooms. Some of the major causes of falls include poor lighting within patients’ rooms and disorganization and clutter within those rooms. The poster describes the importance of the nurse ensuring that the room is tidy and neat and how such simple acts can go a long way in reducing the rate and incidence of falls in patients with dementia.
I have ensured that the title of this poster “Falls in Dementia” is kept short, simple but still effective in the conveyance of the message intended without bringing any confusion. The use of clear and well labelled icons is critical in ensuring that the reader clearly understands the main message that I am trying to put across (Davis et al., 2018). The use of bright colours is critical in ensuring that I fully capture the attention of the target audience.
Contrasting colours further help to relay the message that different data is being shared on the poster. This poster had an appropriate ratio of coloured content to white-space as highlighted in the guidel
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