FALLS AMONG ASSISTED LIVING RESIDENTS: RESULTS FROM THE 2016 NATIONAL STUDY OF LONG-TERM CARE PROVIDERS

Abstract

Fall-related injuries among older adults are common and expensive; can result in hospitalizations, functional decline, and nursing-home placement; and, are more common in institutionalized settings. Even falls not resulting in injury can increase fear of falling, future fall risk, depression, and social isolation. Falls in assisted living and similar residential care communities (RCCs) have been less studied than in nursing home settings. A 2010 Cochrane systematic review found that 20% to 30% of falls in long-term care facilities are preventable. We present results from the National Study of Long-Term Care Providers conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. In 2016, 22% of current RCC residents had a fall in the prior 90 days, representing 175,000 RCC residents in the United States; in 20% of RCCs, more than one-quarter of residents had a fall. Among residents with a fall, 15% had a fall-related injury; in 7% of RCCs, more than one-quarter of residents sustained a fall-related injury. Among residents with a fall, 19% went to a hospital as a result of the fall; in 11% of RCCs, more than one-quarter of residents went to a hospital as a result of the fall. Four-tenths of RCCs reported using a fall risk assessment tool as standard practice with every resident; almost three-fourths of RCCs report using some type of formal fall reduction intervention. Results will be further examined by selected resident case-mix and other RCC characteristics. Results may inform strategies to target RCCs that might benefit from evidence-based fall reduction interventions.