Correlation of Observed Behaviors with Biomechanical Metrics in Determining the Point of Fall Initiation During the Sit-to-Stand-and-Walk of the Elderly

Details

• Personal Author:
  Taylor DG
• Description:
  Elderly patient falls continue to be of primary concern among hospitals worldwide. These falls frequently result in injury or death, often leading to an increase in hospital stay in the short term and a decrease in independence for the patient in the long term. Even amid the variety of fall prevention plans implemented in hospitals over the last few decades, the average patient fall rate continues to rise across the United States. This is unacceptable. Current research has identified the majority of patient falls occur in the patient room during bed egress. Unfortunately, data surrounding these falls at the bedside are extremely limited. In order to evaluate patient falls, researchers have simulated falls in the laboratory with healthy individuals using strict protocols that have been shown to be a significantly inaccurate representation of real-world elderly falls. Through collaborative efforts between nurses, physical therapists, hospital architects, engineers, and biomechanists, this research presents a new framework for use in evaluating elderly patient egress movement, both in the laboratory and clinically in a hospital or clinic setting. This framework includes both a new sit-to-stand-and-walk (STSW) method and a fall-proxy model. By viewing egress performance through the lens of the Taylor STSW Biomechanical Model, insights were gained regarding an elderly patient's preparation to initiate standing, corrective behaviors throughout STSW, pausing prior to initiating gait, and unsmooth movement during a fall-risk episode (FRE). This research has shown that a patient-specific bed height contributes to a successful bed egress, keeping not only the patient safe but also the caregiver who may be assisting. This new knowledge fills a gap in the area of fall studies and fall prevention. Future STSW studies now have a standard whereby to investigate the biomechanical mechanisms that lead to patient egress falls. By using this framework, cross-comparative analyses can be done across STSW studies of both healthy and frail individuals. Results from these studies will provide the much-needed data to drive more effective fall prevention interventions, helping the frail and elderly live healthier lives. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accidents Aging Biomechanical Phenomena Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Biomechanical Engineering Biomechanics Falls Patient Handling
• Publisher:
  University of Utah
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Dissertation
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 8 ; Utah
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-125
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20068738
• Citation:
  Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah, 2022 May; :1-125
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Performing Organization:
  University of Utah
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Correlation of observed behaviors with biomechanical metrics in determining the point of fall initiation during the sit-to-stand-and-walk of the elderly
• End Date:
  20280630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:bf0ed6ec6464f7f23cac639be677da77bf67ca71202dc9dfc2dc8cf193a2ad0238e60ce42c02b3aab11beece8aec9a8225f924005500ed1e5e79f7625a0ea1ce
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/207324/cdc_207324_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 5.82 MB ]