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Growing Aging In The Elderly: A Literature Review

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With the advancement of medicine and technology, it is evident that there is a growing elderly population in the developed countries such as the United States. Perhaps, some casually phrase it as the “baby boomers getting older.” My experience as a nurse taught me that despite developments in modern medicine, there are challenges such as elderly independence and prevention of falls along with the combination of polypharmacy and multiple comorbidities posing as risks. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that 2.5 million people, with ages 65 and older, are treated in the emergency room for fall injuries (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2013). Additionally, the CDC states that over 700,000 patients a year …show more content…
A 3-year prospective study was conducted by Herman, Giladi, and Hausdorff on 265 healthy older adults (Herman, Giladi, & Hausdorff, 2011). The researchers evaluated the TUG test, in comparison to the Dynamic Gait Index (DGI) and the Berg Balance Test (BBT) in assessing the participants’ functional ability and risk for falls (Herman, Giladi, & Hausdorff, 2011). With the TUG test, the time is recorded as the participant stands up from a chair of standard height, between 44 to 47 centimeters, and walks at a comfortable pace with or without an assistive device (Herman, Giladi, & Hausdorff, 2011). The participant is then asked to turn, walk back and sit down and the recorded time is stopped when the participant is sitting down comfortably on the chair (Herman, Giladi, & Hausdorff, 2011). Time to complete the TUG test is dependent on the participant’s performance. The shorter the time a participant completes the test, the better the performance (Herman, Giladi, & Hausdorff, 2011). However, if the participant takes greater than or equal to 12 seconds to complete the TUG test, then he or she is at a higher risk for falling (CDC, 2013). The researchers state that the inter-rater reliability of the TUG test is very high among hospital in-patients and community-dwelling older adults (Herman, Giladi, & Hausdorff, 2011). Additionally, the researchers state that the TUG test has a moderate test-retest reliability in a large study of older adults, and the TUG test was able to identify fallers from non-fallers with an 87% sensitivity and specificity (Herman, Giladi, & Hausdorff, 2011). Although the BBT and DGI are both widely used, the TUG test appears to be a more appropriate tool, making it a valid tool, for clinical assessment for functional mobility in healthy older adults because it is

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