Abstract
This chapter presents an exploratory review on the evaluation, assessment, and monitoring in health and fall risk by common and the most used assessment tools. The main discussion of this chapter of evaluation in health and fall risk is divided into six categories—global health assessment, specific physical (and fitness) assessment, cognitive and psychological assessment, pharmacological assessment, fall risk specific assessment, and some complementary assessment—which show information and how to access. Whereas health evaluative experiences and practices are essential to drive a better and specific intervention, revealing its importance and necessity was also highlighted.
TopDemographics Of Health And Fall Risks In The Elderly
In the last years an increased attention towards falls prevention and management has been not surprising since falling has been recognized worldwide as a major health risk for older people. The number of falls is increasing each year and is the leading cause of injury (fatal and nonfatal) in older adults in Europe and in USA. Approximately 30% of people over 65 years old, and 50% of those over 80, fall at least once a year, and approximately 33% of these are repeated fallers (Bergen, Stevens, & Burns, 2016; Cuevas-trisan, 2019)
One-third of falls requires medical attention, including serious fractures (2-10%), being also the leading cause of hospitalization, and resulting in about 36.000 deaths per year in Europe (EUPHA, 2009). In the USA, the situation is similar, with 28.7% of older adults reporting falling at least one time in the past 12 months, which amounts to 29 million falls a year (Center of Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). The severity of injuries can vary, but 2.8 million of them were treated in hospital and 25% of these individuals were hospitalized subsequently, resulting in approximately 27.000 deaths (Bergen et al., 2016; Cuevas-trisan, 2019). Also, it is known that older people who lie for an hour or more unattended after falling, are less likely, than those who get up or are helped up to make a good recovery. More than 50% of those who remain on the floor for over an hour will die within 6 months, even though not directly injured by the fall (Blain, Bernard, Boubakri, & Bousquet, 2019).
Populations who report poor health have significantly higher fall-related injuries than the ones who report excellent health. Women are more likely to report falling and fall injuries, and this can be explained by the reduced muscle strength that is found when compared to men, with sex and age being two factors associated with reduced muscle mass (Cuevas-trisan, 2019; Nevitt, Cummings, & Hudes, 1991; Rapp, Becker, Cameron, König, & Büchele, 2012). Also, the percentage of caucasian older adults who report falls is greater than that among black persons, however, only a few studies on racial and ethnic differences had been published, and these differences could also be related to health behavior and/or culture (Bergen et al., 2016; Nicklett & Taylor, 2014)
Key Terms in this Chapter
Psychological Assessment: A group of tools designed to specifically assess psychological background.
Physical Assessment: A specific kind of evaluation focusing on physical and/or fitness level in a general or specific component.
Health Assessment: A group of tools used scientifically to assess health parameters.
Fall Risk Assessment: A group of specific tools used to verify the risk of fall in specific population and/or groups.
Cognitive Assessment: A specific kind of evaluation focusing on a general or specific component of cognition.
Pharmacological Assessment: A kind tool to access pharmacological information from an specific person or group.
Environmental Assessment: The kind of tool designed to evaluate information from de environment in some specific, or general component.