Abstract
BackgroundFall events were examined in two distinct geriatric populations to identify factors associated with repeat fallers, and to examine whether patients who use gait aids, specifically a walker, were more likely to experience repeat falls. Each unit already had a generic program for falls prevention in place.MethodsSecondary data analysis was conducted on information collected during the pilot testing of a new quality assurance Incident Reporting Tool between October 2006 and September 2008. The study settings included an in-patient geriatric rehabilitation unit (GRU) and a long stay veterans’ unit (LSVU) in a rehabilitation and long-stay hospital in Ontario. Participants were two hundred and twenty three individuals, aged 65 years or older on these two units, who experienced one or more fall incidents during the study period.ResultsLogistic regression analyses showed that on the GRU age was significantly associated with repeat falls. On the LSVU first falls in the morning or late evening were associated with repeat falling. Walker as a gait aid listed at time of first fall was not associated with repeat falls.ConclusionsThis study suggests that different intervention may be necessary in different geriatric settings to identify, for secondary prevention, certain individuals for which the generic programs prove inadequate. Information collection with a specific focus on the issue of repeat falls may be necessary for greater insight.
Highlights
Fall events were examined in two distinct geriatric populations to identify factors associated with repeat fallers, and to examine whether patients who use gait aids, a walker, were more likely to experience repeat falls
Among fallers on the long stay veterans’ unit (LSVU), none of the study variables were significantly associated with repeat falls there was some suggestion that time of day of first fall may be associated with repeat falls
This study suggests that some repeat fall prevention strategies should be specific to the person, some strategies should be unit specific and these are in addition to global strategies that are in place to enhance safety and reduce falls risk across the institutional setting
Summary
Fall events were examined in two distinct geriatric populations to identify factors associated with repeat fallers, and to examine whether patients who use gait aids, a walker, were more likely to experience repeat falls. In Canada approximately 7.4% of older adults who are 65 or more years of age live in institutional settings yet this group experiences 21% of all fall-related hospitalizations. This high propensity for falls and fall-related injury in the elderly, especially in institutional settings, is likely related to a Another important aspect to be considered is recurrent falls. Risk factors associated with recurrent falls are similar to those of single falls [7] but because recurrent fallers are more likely to experience injury from repeated episodes, they constitute an important group to target for preventive efforts [8]
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