ASSISTÊNCIA DE ENFERMAGEM PARA PREVENÇÃO DE QUEDAS EM IDOSOS NA ATENÇÃO BÁSICA À SAÚDE: REVISÃO INTEGRATIVA

Abstract

Introduction: The accelerated process of population aging is a phenomenon already evident all over the world. The physiological changes characteristic of the aging process cause a decline in health and favor the evolution of a more fragile being and more vulnerable to adverse events such as the fall, for example. Falls are a public health problem, their consequences are serious and have repercussions in every society. Considering the severity and the danger of this event in the life of the elderly people, the following research question arose: How should nursing act in the prevention of falls in the elderly in Primary Health Care? Objectives: To analyze the performance of nursing in the prevention of falls in the elderly in primary health care. Methodology: Integrative review. Data collection was carried out in 2018 in the collection of the Virtual Health Library (VHL), in Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences databases (LILACS); Nursing Database (BDENF) and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO), published in the period from 2014 to 2018. The descriptors used were: the elderly and accidents due to falls. We identified 161 articles, of which 108 articles were excluded because they were repeated because they were not available fully, they were in another language and because they did not match the theme. Of the 53 articles selected, the abstract and final considerations were read out, leaving 34 articles that were read in their entirety. Considering the analysis of the methodological rigor and verification of the levels of evidence, 14 met the inclusion criteria and composed the final sample of the study. Results: It was evidenced that falls occur more frequently in the elderly people, with 80 years of age or over; who have low level of schooling and socioeconomic level; which present altered balance, audiovisual problems, sedentariness and comorbidities. A higher rate of falls at home was observed in the studies, followed by public roads. The main preventive actions of falls, evidenced in the studies were: implementation of health education, establishment of effective measures in the mapping of risk groups, establishing individual and collective actions, promoting habits changes that culminate in risk, stimulating the practice of physical activity , formulating, implementing and establishing prevention protocols. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, the nurse has the competence and autonomy to develop preventive actions for falls through health education, both for professionals who work in this area, as well as for family members, caregivers and for the elderly themselves. Therefore, it can establish actions in the individual and collective scope, in the context of basic care, aiming to contribute to the implementation of preventive measures for falls that favor, thus, the quality of life of the elderly.