The city of West Miami that is situated in Florida is inhabited by many people who have particular difficulties with their orientation and balance. Such an issue leads to multiple falls among the representatives of the older generations. As people over sixty years old fall on a regular basis, they also receive various traumas and injuries that sometimes are impossible to treat due to their health conditions and inability to undergo medical operations. It would be proper to mention that this problem is prevalent all over the United States of America, and West Miami is not an exception. The following paper is intended to discuss and describe the problems of people from West Miami (Dade County, Florida) who suffer from their regular falls.
Vulnerable Population Overview
As it is mentioned above, many old people from the districts of West Miami tend to fall because they do not have any physical support when they need to walk or travel somewhere. Such situations happen because these individuals have weakness in their legs that imposes particular limitations on their movements (Burns, Stevens, & Lee, 2016). It is essential to remember that patients with such problems have to be assisted by nurses or their family members. Otherwise, their attempts to walk long distances might lead to serious injuries and other traumas.
According to the windshield survey performed by students previously, the group of people described above is exposed to unpredictable falls. The citizens of the discussed community are aware of the existing preventative strategies and programs. To maintain a healthy lifestyle, they try to follow their doctors’ pieces of advice (Burns et al., 2016). In particular, they are prohibited from walking fast, do their physical activities on a daily basis, but recommended to spend much time outside to communicate with their neighbors and breathe fresh air. The only trend noted among this community is people’s age. Individuals over sixty years old find it difficult to move without other people’s assistance. There is nothing unique about the environment of this community as similar cases are prevalent all over the world.
Strengths, Risk Factors, and Barriers
The older populations of West Miami are somewhat limited in their freedoms of movement as they are not recommended to leave their homes for an extended period (Burns et al., 2016). There are some risk factors that might have an adverse impact on their health. For instance, they may fall and receive multiple injuries. Also, they might not be seen by other people that can help them at the moment.
Ambrose, Paul, and Hausdorff (2013) claim that falls also might present a risk factor of mortality and morbidity. “Falls lead to moderate to severe injuries, fear of falling, loss of independence and death in a third of those patients” (Ambrose et al., 2013, p 51). Unfortunately, these people do not have any strength regarding the discussed issue. However, they always experience various barriers as they cannot maintain a healthy and independent lifestyle.
Community Resources
The Florida Department of Health (2017) workers are concerned with the problem of falls that older people experience on a regular basis in the state of Florida. Therefore, they are always ready to consult their clients as to various fall prevention methods. Moreover, the team of medical personnel will arrive at any city of the state if they are informed about serious cases of falls and crucial consequences. The team of this health department is obliged to help such people and prevent similar cases in the future.
It would be proper to mention that there are specialized centers in every state that help old people with the problem described above. These assistance resources are adequate as they employ only registered nurses and professional doctors. Also, such organizations are usually governmental. Therefore, they do not require any payments from people who seek help due to the possibility to fall.
Community Health Problem Diagnosis
According to Healthy People 2020 (2017), the rate of multiple emergency department visits due to older people’s falls might be reduced among this community. To reach this goal, it would be advantageous to help people at their houses or places they go, instead of making them travel all the way to the health department. It is a tremendous problem that old people should travel long distances with a possible risk of falling and receiving severe injuries. However, there is no specific diagnosis that might influence the given issue.
Summary
As it is mentioned above, many old people from the city of West Miami have problems due to the increased risk of falls. These falls might be followed by serious traumas and death in some cases. It is important to remember that this problem is not specific as it is prevalent almost in every country of the world. When people become older, the weakness in their legs increases. Therefore, they cannot rely on their own ability to walk and travel around the city. There are many government services that are ready to help this vulnerable population. For instance, the workers of the Florida Department of Health should arrive at the place where their patient fell, help one, and consult him or her as to the further prevention of such situations.
References
Ambrose, A. F., Paul, G., & Hausdorff, J. M. (2013). Risk factors for falls among older adults: A review of the literature. Maturitas, 75(1), 51-61. Web.
Burns, E. R., Stevens, J. A., & Lee, R. (2016). The direct costs of fatal and non-fatal falls among older adults — United States. Journal of Safety Research, 58(1), 99-103. Web.
Healthy People 2020. (2017). Reduce the rate of emergency department (ED) visits due to falls among older adults.
The Florida Department of Health. (2017). Older adult falls prevention.