Falls in institutionalized elderly people are an important public health problem. In line with Europe and the world, in the population over 60 years of age, in Portugal, falls were the main cause of death related to injuries in 2019. In the institutionalized elderly population, there is a higher incidence of falls than in the general population. In the prevention of falls in the elderly population, the biggest challenges faced by nurses are the reduction of risk behaviors and the increase in health promotion behaviors, making it essential to develop health education practices for effective prevention of these events. The community intervention project took place in a residential structure for elderly people in the area covered by a public health unit. Its objective was to reduce the number of falls among users of the institution, by increasing the knowledge of formal caregivers and promoting the adoption of practices for the prevention of falls. The Health Planning methodology of Imperatori and Giraldes (1982) was selected, following its stages. As a theoretical reference, the Health Promotion Model by Nola Pender was selected. For the diagnosis of the situation, a questionnaire was used as a data collection instrument, which consists of collecting sociodemographic data and applying a scale for evaluating the practices and behaviors of the team of formal caregivers, in the management of the risk of falls, which allowed defining the nursing diagnoses. By applying the Hanlon method, the priorities of the diagnoses were defined, highlighting “Lack of knowledge about fall prevention” and “Caregiver's ability to take care of compromised”. Objectives were established and health education was used as the main strategy in community intervention activities. In the evaluation, there was an increase in the level of knowledge of this group about preventing the occurrence of falls, thus envisioning effective gains in health. With the development of this project, the necessary skills were acquired to obtain the degree of specialist nurse in community nursing and public health and master nurse.
Date of Award | 22 Nov 2023 |
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Original language | Portuguese |
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Awarding Institution | - Universidade Católica Portuguesa
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Supervisor | Elisa Maria Bernardo Garcia (Supervisor) |
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- Formal caregivers
- Elderly
- Falls
- Health promotion
- Community nursing
Prevenir quedas em pessoas idosas institucionalizadas : intervenção de enfermagem comunitária
Pinto, A. R. F. (Student). 22 Nov 2023
Student thesis: Master's Thesis