Understanding fall risk for older adults with cancer: An evaluation of experts' perceptions

Falls in older ambulatory care patients with cancer in Iran: Implications for clinical practice

“…Ehrlich, Hassan, and Stagg 3 showed that visual impairment or the use of visual aids can increase the probability of falls in older people. This situation could arise due to poor eyesight, inappropriate use of or improper and inefficient visual aids, such as bifocals or multifocal glasses, which can lead to an increased risk of falling 15,34 . The higher the degree of visual disorder in older patients, therefore, and their greater reliance on visual aids, then the more probable falling will be.…”

“…Data collection involved a questionnaire devised by a researcher and based on earlier studies. 15,[17][18][19][20] The questionnaire contained 35 validated questions within three sections: 10 demographic questions (including age, gender, marital status, education, employment status, place of residence, and primary caregiver), 15 questions about falling and related factors, and 10 cancer-related questions. The definition used for falls was events that result in a person coming to rest inadvertently on the ground or floor or other lower level.…”

“…However, due to the long‐term nature of cancer treatment, the preference is to continue with it as ambulatory care to help reduce treatment costs, save time, and reduce complications from the disease and nosocomial infections, particularly in older people 5 . As older patients with cancer in ambulatory care are not generally reporting or being monitored for falls in a holistic way by health care workers when receiving medical services, they can be exposed to the hazardous consequences that falls can inflict 11,15 . Therefore, identification of risk factors for falling is important to develop programs for preventing and reducing such falls 7,10,14 .…”

Geriatric emergencies in older adults with cancer: why older patients need a special approach

“…In addition, management of older individuals with cancer is complicated. Older adults are at high-risk treatment-related side effects and severe treatment toxicity associated with the management and treatment of their cancers, such as falls, delirium, and acute pain [3][4][5] . Unplanned emergency department (ED) visits and hospital admissions occur in older adults under treatment for cancer due to numerous treatment-related side effects 6 .…”

“…Unplanned emergency department (ED) visits and hospital admissions occur in older adults under treatment for cancer due to numerous treatment-related side effects 6 . Helping older adults identify and manage side effects may reduce the number of unplanned admissions and lower the incidence of cancer-related complications reducing resource use and improving quality of life for older patients 5,6 .…”