Falling is one of the number one risks of the elderly. The CDC—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—has created a test for the elderly “designed to indicate your risk of failing by testing your leg strength as well as endurance.”

“According to Dr. Sebastiana Zimba Kalula, 20 to 30 percent of the elderly who fall, suffer serious injuries such as hip and other fractures. Hip fractures are a major cause of immobility and mortality. If you are taking care of an elderly person, be it a family member or client, this test can help to assess their risk of falling.

It can be empowering for someone to know their limitations, as they will know when they need help. This assessment can also play a key role in preventing falls.  Kalula says that “preventing a fall is the most effective way to prevent injury and in certain cases even fatalities in the elderly”.

Common risk factors for falling in the elderly include poor vision, poor urine control, foot disorders, depression as well as chronic non-communicable diseases.”

The 30-second sit-to-stand test can be found here.

In other news, a recent study conducted in the United States by MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, Imperial College London, studied mortality rates between young and old, gender, and seasons. The study—”used data on 85,854,176 deaths in the US between 1980 and 2016”—showed a unsurprisingly increase in elderly deaths in the month of February “in the northeast and southeast regions of the US.”

“Using this approach, the research team identified several distinct seasonal patterns in relation to age and gender:

  • Deaths from overall mortality (any cause of death) in men aged 45 years and older and women aged 35 years and older peaked in December, January or February, and were lowest in June to August
  • Deaths from heart and lung diseases were highest in January and February and lowest in July and August regardless of age
  • Deaths in children younger than five were highest in February and lowest in August
  • By contrast, deaths from overall mortality peaked in June and July for males aged between five and 34 years old
  • Deaths from injuries were highest in the summer for both men and women younger than 45 years old”

At BEC Integrated Solutions, The Numera Libris GPS Cellular Network Location Device can track a patient’s personal health data, daily activities and location at all times ensuring safety and immediate location accuracy specifically in cases of a fall.

The Anti Wandering & Fall Prevention System is another affordable and practical system that can be designed to fit you and your patient or loved one’s needs. Containing call-buttons, silent signaling to a centralized location, sensor pads, floor mats, pagers and panic buttons, these devices are wireless and come without the burdensome cords that can oftentimes cause falls and injuries in patients.

BEC Integrated Solutions aim is to provide caregivers with affordable and user-friendly technology to help keep your patient or loved one safe. Please contact us for a free quote.