Annotated Bibliography Example on Footwear Choices for Older People: Minimizing Fall Risk

Menant, J. C., Steele, J. R., Menz, H. B., Munro, B. J., & Lord, S. R. (2008). Optimizing footwear for older people at risk of falls.

Footwear affects the balance and minimizes the risks of falling through enhancement of the frictional conditions. Walking indoors barefoot and using high heels when outdoors increases the chance of older people falling. For this reason, the primary purpose of this study is to describe the footwear types that older individuals wear, the risks of the footwear to the individuals falling, and the appropriate evidence that shows the effects of individual footwear characteristics in terms of balance and the factors that are concerning the older individuals. The people that were in the research were 128. Sixty were men, while 68 were females. All of them were above 65 years old In the Medline searches, they accessed 1185 articles; however, 56 of them were relevant to the topic as well as the abstract. On the references, 19 articles were applicable. One article from the CSA Illumina database was retrieved. In the literature review, 79 articles were applicable. Following the Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine Levels of Evidence, the tests and studies had the 2b evidence level. However, two studies had the description of case-control and one article had a 2a evidence level. The Medline search aim was the identify the features and types of footwear that make older individuals fall, their habitual footwear, and the effects they have on them. Also, there was searching for keywords like footwear or shoes and also aging or aged. Finally, there was an assessment of the shreds of evidence on the Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine Levels of Evidence. The first finding is that older people prefer wearing slippers indoors and shoes that do not feet them appropriately. As a result of this, they experienced many falls. In the women's case, about 30% wore slippers that led to heel spillage, and another 25% wore high-heeled shoes hence resulting from heeling spillage as well. The second findings are the effects of each type of shoe. However, the general effect is pain and alteration of the somatosensory feedback on the ankle and foot.

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O'Rourke, B., Walsh, M. E., Brophy, R., Vallely, S., Murphy, N., Conroy, B., & Horgan, N. F. (2020). Does the shoe fit? Characterizing ill-fitting footwear among community-dwelling older adults attending geriatric services: an observational cross-sectional study. BMC geriatrics, 20(1), 1-8.

Fall in older individuals is widespread, and it results in them losing confidence, fear of falling, and lack of independence. The primary aim of the study was to examine the older individuals proportion that was attended the day of geriatric in the health facility and the shoes they were wearing. The other aim of the study was the determination of the footwear characteristics that these people wore. The individuals were 111 and were 60 years old and above. The men were 44 while the women were 67. These people were attending the day of geriatric in a massive healthcare facility in Ireland. The recruitment of these individuals happened in June and July in the year 2017. The study in this article was a cross-sectional observation. There was an application of the STROBE guidelines in the observational studies reporting. Some of the applicable methods are The Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living Scale, and some demographic information entailing medication, age, cohabitation, and age. The footwear Assessment form was also applicable. The other applicable method is the SATRA stick of the shoe size. The Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living scale purpose was performed on each person whose purpose is assessing self-reported functional independence level. The Footwear Assessment Form is applicable in the assessment of footwear. A record of the Timed Up and Go was done. The SATRA stick of the shoe size is applicable in measuring the foot length and shoe size in millimeters. The first finding is the mean difference between the foot and shoe length was 18.6mm. The other finding was that 72% of the participants would wear footwear that is either small or big. 67% of individuals wear slippers while indoors. The other finding was following the Footwear Assessment Form claims that the footwear has at least five unsafe characteristics.

Vass, C., Edwards, C., Smith, A., Sahota, O., & Drummond, A. (2015). What do patients wear on their feet? A service evaluation of footwear in elderly patients. International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, 22(5), 225-232.

Inpatient falls in healthcare facilities are a primary challenge, and it contributes in a great way to the healthcare burden. However, older individuals are the most vulnerable because of their reduced visual, and cognitive impairments, and specific medicine side effects. For this reason, the primary aim of this research paper is to evaluate the type of footwear that patients wear in the healthcare facility and explain their perceptions when it comes to footwear. Specific organizations offered participation in the survey. These organizations are Health Care of Older People (HCOP) wards that are at the Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, and the United Kingdom. In the Queen's Medical Centre, the patients who were admitted to the HCOP wards were the participants. The age of the people who participated was above 65 years. The approval and funding of the study were by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust in the United Kingdom. The first primary design that was applicable in the study was interviewing the patients. Another functional design is observation. During the service evaluation, the patient's personal information was not collected. There was a provision of written data to the participants before the interview period. An adequate explanation was given to each of them. Afterward, the information was recorded on a transcribed verbatim and voice recorder that is digital. Finally, two people from each research team did a thematic analysis. Through observation: the assessment entailed 417 footwear pairs. The first finding is that 40% of the patients were barefoot. Out of the 417 patients, 402 of them had common footwear types: socks and slippers. The findings of the interview are: 569 footwear pairs were observed. 57% of the participants carried their indoor footwear, 6% their outdoor ones, 4% purchased them, and 34% had the ward footwear.

A Summary of the Findings

The increase in the rate at which older individuals fall in healthcare facilities is increasing day in and day out. The cause of these falls is the medication they consume, sensory deficits, cognitive impairment, and wearing inappropriate shoes. However, in this paper, the main concern is on the inappropriate footwear. Older individuals are more likely to fall because their ability to accomplish tasks and be stable when walking is lower as compared to young people. Inappropriate footwear risks older people to experience trips, slips, and falls, which are dangerous to them (Menant et al., 2008).

Also, inappropriate footwear at times causes gait and low balance. Examples of inappropriate footwear that leads to older people falling are wearing loose slippers. Through the findings of the three research papers, it is evident that the different types of footwear that the older in the health care facility is what influences their fall. This essay is going to discuss the primary aim of the research extensively, describe the key findings, relate the findings to the statement, and conclude with a shred of supporting evidence.

Since inappropriate footwear increases the chances of people losing balance and falling due to imbalanced frictional conditions, older adults are more vulnerable because they tend to have specific medicine side effects and impairment in hearing and sight as well. The primary aim, for this reason, is to figure out the characteristics and types of footwear that the older people in the healthcare facilities wear and their risks. Also, discovering the evidence that shows the effects of this footwear.

The study selected a group of patients and conducted interviews, others were observed, and some specific tests like the SATRA stick of the show size were conducted. The groups had older people who were more than 60 years old and were in a hospital setting or kept visiting it (Vaas et al., 2015). The groups had a higher percentage of the female in comparison to the men. The research setting, in this case, is the healthcare facility. It is because it is the place where older individuals are easily found. After all, with old age comes a lot of delicate health conditions.

The most relevant findings of the study are the different characteristics and types of footwear that older individuals in healthcare facilities wear and their risks. Through the research, it was evident that the footwear of the older individuals lacked some critical characteristics. Only two characteristics were appropriate, and that is the width and length. However, this is not the case for all because some have footwear that does not fit appropriately. The footwear does not have the motion control properties that are essential for ambulation, controlled propulsion, and balance hence making them vulnerable to tripping and falling (O'Rourke et al., 2020).

It is through this that the footwear that the older individuals wear in the health care facility is of low quality. For instance, most of the patients carried the slippers that they use at home to the hospital. The slippers are dangerous because it does not offer the required flexibility due to the less friction it has with the floor. Only about 15% of the patients wore the appropriate and suitable footwear.

The risks that come with falling for older individuals are that their bones, arms, hip fractures, and many other parts of the body break. Due to their old age, it is also difficult for them to heal because their bones are too weak. As a result, they might spend the rest of their lives in a wheelchair or even die. The healthcare sector needs to offer appropriate and effective footwear to older individuals not only in the hospital setting but the community at large.

The other finding was the footwear that the patients wore had inappropriate characteristics. Some of the characteristics are, first and foremost, most women wore a heel whose counter stiffness is more than the required angle of 45 degrees (Menant et al., 2008). Both genders wore the footwear that was worn and had a smooth sole treat pattern. The third finding is that the mean NEADL score was about 13, which explains the low independence levels in the ADLs instrumentals in comparison to the older adults in the community.

The findings support the statement a hundred percent. The statement talks about how inappropriate footwear in old individuals makes them fall in hospital settings, and the research shows the appropriate evidence on how they relate. The first evidence is that there are different types of footwear that older people use in hospitals that make them vulnerable to falling. The most common one is the slippers, and this is dangerous because they lack friction with the floor hence making them stable, and also, they do not fit the leg appropriately (Vaas et al., 2015).