I shall be using this space for all the initial research for the Medicines Review & Falls Prevention brief. I will be trying to use the six frames technique from the workshop this week with this research, to analyse, narrow & prioritise information. Overtime I will add my own research that I’ll come across during my idea’s phases to come back too. Also any information the client provides I shall include here.
The Brief
“There is a risk of a member of the public falling if they taking numerous medications. The term used to describe the concurrent use of multiple medications by a patient is Polypharmacy.
1000 Lives, Public Health Wales need to Promote the Medication Review procedure, to encourage patients to have their medications reviewed with either a GP or a Practice Pharmacist, to ensure their safety and reduce the risk of falls.““The challenge is to encourage those on 5 or more medications to request a Medications Review as a means to raise awareness of the falls prevention campaign and reduce the likelihood of falls.” by 1000Lives.
Background/Context
According to the client’s information.
“The Medicines Safety & Falls Prevention
programmes are working together in the area of polypharmacy and fall prevention.”
Which means the campaign need to provide concepts to both subjects.
“It is widely accepted that patients on 5 medications or more should have a falls risk discussion at their medications review.”
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/falls/prevention/
”It is very important that Medicines review is different to MUR – Medications Use Review
conducted by Community Pharmacy e.g. Well or Lloyds pharmacy”.
From the NHS website, it also mentioned that long-term medicines can partially be the cause of a fall, which then patients are advised to have their medicines check at least once a year. GP may recommend alternative medicine for the condition or look to lower doses.
Preventions
Having a Medications Review could prevent a fall and help to maintain independence,
particularly for people taking 5 medicines or more.
If you are on 5 medicines or more, make sure to ask about the falls programme at your next medications review or contact with a health care professional, to find out about the simple changes that can be made to your home in order to reduce the risk of a fall.
1000Lives key aims for falls prevention are:
- Raising public awareness of how to reduce the risk of falls in older people.
- Developing brief interventions using the ‘Steady on Stay Safe’ campaign.
- Developing a data sharing pathway between the NHS and non-NHS organisations.
Outcome of a fall – A fall can have a detrimetnal effect on someone’s life & well-being, for example, it can result to a fracture, in most cases, the area in which older people are insisted a hospital stay and possibly a operation. The result of this overtime can lower the persons independence, mobility & mental state.
The causes of having a fall are multifactorial – a fall is the result of the interplay of multiple risk factors. These include:
- having a history of falls
- muscle weakness
- poor balance
- visual impairment
- polypharmacy and the use of certain medicines
- environmental hazards and a number of specific conditions.
Existing Campaign (By 1000Lives):
- Steady On… Stay Safe! – A collaborative campaign, supported with the different sector which is expertise in fall prevention, also promoting Strength & Balance, being active by doing exercise. Info value being the below, presented in forms of posters & leaflets. (http://www.ageingwellinwales.com/en/SteadyOn) While also providing speeches in the local area (Get Involves)
- Stay active and stay strong
- If you fall, tell someone
- Be aware of trip hazards in and outside the home
Primary Care – 1000 Lives Improvement is supporting the development of a national programme for primary care by providing guidance, training and advice for local, regional and national health teams across Wales.
- Primary Care Safety (Support collaboration on key safety issues and better use of data.)
- Improving Medicines Safety (Develop systems that promote safer use of medicines.)
- Pharmacists in Practice (1000Lives supports new workforce with a national ‘community of practice’, providing an opportunity to share info & experience.
http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/888/page/83453/
Target Audience
- Patients ages 60+ Those Who have a high chance to fall
- Those who care for them which are family/friends.
According to https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/itandinternetindustry/bulletins/internetusers/2018, Internet user of age 65-74 has increased from 52% in 2011 to 80% in 2018, even Closing the gap in younger age groups. Having online services being so popular Today because of its speedy easy access. Even if old people don’t book these services them self, their family would be the one who helps them.
“A lot of our fear of death is about losing the Things we’ve built up,” says Steve Taylor, a lecturer in psychology at Leeds Beckett University in Leeds, England, and the author of Out of Darkness. “But elderly people let go of their attachment to these things, and in the process, they let go of some of Their fear.” Otto Rank http://time.com/4217039/why-are-old-people-less-scared-of-dying/
This research from my perspective translates to since older people have less fear to death they are likely to ignore some of the health issues which will lead to death, one example of this from my experience is my grandfather, never thought to be too concerned about his health but sort of brushed it aside thinking that it wasn’t as important.
according to End of Life Review (2013 slightly outdated) Dying in pain (83%) is what people actually don’t want the most, furthermore Being told they are dying (62%) & Dying in a hospital (59%) is also popular which is something to be keeping in mind when designing this campaign for the 1000Lives. I assume this information is quite rough and outdated but I’m sure this is still valid for a majority of the audience.
Additional Information from the NHS website
There are a lot of related facts on Medicines review & Falls prevention, However, I’m included some information that can be helpful to what the client wants from us.
- My Client is not the NHS or the Government but 1000Lives Public Health Wales.
- About a third of all people Aged over 65 falls each year, with higher rates Among those over 75, but falling does not have to be an inevitable part of growing older. Public Health Wales is encouraging people aged 50 plus to #SteadyOnStaySafe to reduce their risk of falling. (http://www.1000livesplus.wales.nhs.uk/falls)
- People aged 65 and older have the highest risk of falling; around a third of people aged 65 and over, and around half of the people aged 80 and over, fall at least once a year. #Average? Up-to-date? (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/falls-applying-all-our-health/falls-applying-all-our-health)
- Polypharmacy = When a patient is prescribed four or more drugs
- According to specialist pharmacist David Green, the new pharmacy contract provided a real opportunity for community pharmacists to offer specific medicines review services to older people as part of a falls prevention programme. This will allow pharmacists to discuss compliance, and risk and side effect profiles with patients and, where appropriate, to take patients off certain medicines in order to help reduce their risk of falls. Furthermore, NICE judged that there was insufficient evidence to support recommending a number of interventions, such as vitamin D supplementation. (https://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/pj-online-news-nice-issues-guidance-on-falls-prevention-in-elderly/20013479.article?firstPass=false)
- In what ways can medicines cause a fall? (Falls risk and medicationhttps://www.bristol.gov.uk/…/Falls…medication/1b7e13eb-1d77-4981-ad9f-a9d571b5…) When a patient has prescribed four or more drugs also known as Polypharmacy, the sides effect of these medications could cause sedation, impaired postural stability, Postural hypotension, Drug-induced Parkinsonism, Visual impairment, Hypoglycaemia, Deafness, Confusion, Hypothermia, and Dehydration which could ultimately lead to a fall.
Video links/sources
My Reflection
Medicines review & Falls prevention – while Medicines review is part of the campaigns target to get the patients to do, preventing falls which are involved with polypharmacy are what the campaign is trying to reduce. Just by telling the audience you’re going to fall because by not having a review in place doesn’t solve the problem, It can be a number of things as to why.. out of fear or lack of motivation is a few common factors, what tells me going forward is some useful facts and information to re-assure the target audience about the benefits, I feel this can be an attraction point to start off an idea. Preferably a concept under the realms of Infographics can be a positive solution.
My Initial Approach.
The piece of info I found most interesting to me is the term ”Strength & Balance” which was mentioned within the bullet points from the Steady on and Stay Safe campaign. It has a strong theme that I can use on many platforms to experiment with, the key of all this is to get the audience much more active and balanced. Having strength will manifest into motivation to keep occupied in daily routines, and with balance, without that theres no order, no rules, and keeping up to date with medical records and medicines WILL keep you balance throughout their lifetime without ever feeling the need to misuse, avoid or be ignorant.
My Learning Journal 