Chapter 68 - Fall prevention interventions

Abstract

Falls pose a major threat to the well-being and quality of life of older people. Over 90% of hip fractures result from a fall, and falls are the leading cause of injury-related hospitalization and death in people aged over 65 years. There is now robust evidence on fall risk factors and effective targeted intervention strategies to prevent falls in older people in a range of settings. This chapter provides a summary of fall risk assessment and fall prevention strategies for older people in community, hospital, and residential aged care facilities. Validated fall risk assessment tools can give a strong indication of a person’s risk of falling and can be incorporated into clinical practice. Effective interventions for reducing falls include exercise, multifactorial interventions, enhanced podiatry intervention, home safety occupational therapy interventions, medication review, expedited cataract extraction and daily or weekly vitamin D supplementation in people with low levels of vitamin D.