PREVIEW NOTES

Continuing education in terms of intervention and prevention of falls on the part of the elderly: a descriptive study

Luiz Contarine Neto¹, Edmundo de Drummond Alves Junior¹

¹Fluminense Federal University

ABSTRACT:
Aims: To prepare a proposal for the implementation of Continuing Health Education (CHE) for physical educators in order to prepare them to intervene and reduce the risk of falls on the part of the elderly; To identify the risk factors and root causes of accidents from falls on the part of the elderly; To analyze the knowledge of physical educators in relation to accidents from falls.
Method: This is a descriptive and exploratory research, using a qualitative approach. The study subjects are physical education teachers and elderly participants in the CQV-IFF project. Data will be collected from March to April 2015, from bibliographical research, taped semi-structured interviews and a structured questionnaire. The data will be processed by content analysis. Complementary activities related to the project for the prevention of falls will be proposed, based on the demand of the elderly on the subject. The goal is to train physical education teachers so they are able to act as interveners with the elderly group, guiding CHE as an investigative methodology.
Descriptors: Aging; Accidental Falls; Education, Continuing

PROBLEM SITUATION AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

Falls and their consequences are a public health problem of great social impact, and this issue is currently faced by all countries where there is a significant aging population. Falls are an unintended displacement of the body to a lower level in relation to the starting position without correction capability in a timely manner, and can lead to long periods of hospitalization, rehabilitation and dependence on third parties⁽¹⁾. Moreover, such an event can cause health damage leading to functional decline, limitations in terms of daily activities and even death⁽¹⁾. In this context, it is necessary to take educational action in terms of awareness and prevention in order to build a critical awareness in terms of the causes, problems and necessary actions to deal with future accidents by falls⁽²⁾. The implementation of a continuing health education (CHE) program is necessary because it would enable improved perception and the prevention of problems associated with such falls⁽³⁾.

The continuing education (PE) is based on a consideration of the work process and seeks reflections and solutions in terms of the problems encountered in daily work situation, promoting changes in professional practices⁽³⁾. Based on the transfer of the CE context to the CQV-IFF project, it will be possible to transform the professional practice of physical education teachers by expanding their knowledge in terms of accidents from falls, in order to put into place educational measures for the prevention of such accidents.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

What are the main causes and risk factors presented in the literature related to accidents from falls on the part of the elderly?
What is the perception that physical educators, who work in the CQV-IFF project, have in terms of accidents from falls?
How should we implement the CE in terms of accidents from falls for those physical education teachers who work in the project?

AIMS

General aim: To develop a proposal for the implementation of CHE for physical education teachers who work in the CQV-IFF project in order to prepare them to intervene and reduce the risk of falls on the part of the elderly who also participate in the CQV-IFF project in the city of Campos/RJ.

Specific Aims: To identify the risk factors and root causes of accidents from falls on the part of the elderly; and to analyze the knowledge of physical educators in relation to accidents from falls.

ASSUMPTION

This study assumes that the probability of new episodes of accidents from falls reinforces the need to implement an educational strategy that is capable of preparing health professionals to deal with this reality. In this context, CHE is a facilitating pedagogical strategy to transform the reality of work in healthcare.

METHODOLOGY

This is a descriptive study using a qualitative approach of the field research type. This study will be held at the Fluminense Federal Institute (FFI). The study subjects are physical education teachers and the elderly of both sexes. Inclusion criteria: to be able to take part in all stages of the research and be part of the CQV-IFF project. Exclusion criteria: physical educators who are not participating in the project and the elderly who do not present the necessary physical and mental conditions to answer the questionnaire. The sample consists of approximately 60 subjects, including ten (10) physical education teachers and fifty (50) elderly. Initially, a literature search will be carried out in major databases, through a survey of Brazilian and international scientific papers published in the last five years, addressing the main risk factors related to falls on the part of the elderly. Data collection will take place in the period from March to April 2015 in two stages: (i) semi-structured interviews with the physical educators. These interviews will be recorded for later transcription; (ii) application of a structured questionnaire to be completed by the elderly participants. This questionnaire includes 36 closed questions in order to articulate the following areas: residence data, data relating to health, and data relating to potential accidents from falls. The data will be analyzed through the content analysis technique proposed by Minayo. Based on the demands of the elderly on the subject, complementary activities related to the project for the prevention of falls will be proposed. The goal is to train physical education teachers to act as interveners with the elderly group. The CHE will form an investigative methodology for carrying out activities with the educators, so that they may become multipliers of health actions for the elderly in order to reduce accidents due to falls. As this is research that involves human beings, the project has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine of the Hospital Antonio Pedro on February 5th, 2015, under the opinion number 977,629 in compliance with Resolution No. 466/12 of the National Health Council, which governs human research.

REFERENCES

1. Amaro, AR. Mobilidade funcional, risco de queda, nível de atividade física e percepção de saúde em individuos com 65 anos ou mais. [ dissertation ]. Lisbon: University  of Lisbon; 2012.

2. Paula FL. Envelhecimento e quedas de idosos. Rio de Janeiro: Apicuri; 2010.

3. Espírito Santo JN, Cordeiro BC. Permanent education about the risks of biological natural disasters in sports: a descriptive study [ internet ] 2014 Oct [ cited 2013 Nov 15 ] 13 (suppl I): 439-41. Available from:http://www.objnursing.uff.br/index.php/nursing/article/view/5043

All authors participated in the phases of this publication in one or more of the following steps, in According to the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE, 2013): (a) substantial involvement in the planning or preparation of the manuscript or in the collection, analysis or interpretation of data; (b) preparation of the manuscript or conducting critical revision of intellectual content; (c) approval of the versión submitted of this manuscript. All authors declare for the appropriate purposes that the responsibilities related to all aspects of the manuscript submitted to OBJN are yours. They ensure that issues related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the article were properly investigated and resolved. Therefore, they exempt the OBJN of any participation whatsoever in any imbroglios concerning the content under consideration. All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest of financial or personal nature concerning this manuscript which may influence the writing and/or interpretation of the findings. This statement has been digitally signed by all authors as recommended by the ICMJE, whose model is available in http://www.objnursing.uff.br/normas/DUDE_eng_13-06-2013.pdf

 Master student: Luiz Contarine Neto

Advisor: Edmundo de Drummond Alves Junior

Received: 03/17/2015
Revised: 07/06/2015
Approved: 07/06/2015