The Long-Term Trends of the Association Between Falls Among the Elderly in Taiwan and their Utilization of Medical Facilities

Abstract

Summary Background Every year many adults aged 65 and over, suffer falls. This study used longitudinal data to investigate the long-term trend of falls among the elderly in Taiwan, and the association between falls and the utilization of medical facilities. Methods This study included 1653 elderly adults who completed questionnaires for a nationwide survey at different times. The data were analyzed with Chi-square test, independent-sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, Scheffe's post-hoc analysis and Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE), using SPSS 19.0 and Stata version SE 11.0. Results The proportion of elderly who had fallen has been increased 1.6 times from 1999 to 2007. The probability of using the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinics (RR = 1.44) for those who had fallen was higher, as well as these of using the ER (RR = 1.81) and hospital (RR = 1.89), and the number of days hospitalized (RR = 1.85). There was no significant difference in their use of western medicine clinics (P > 0.05). Conclusion The government should provide appropriate medical care and services to reduce the incidence of falls in elderly and their uses of medical resources, thus improving elderly adults' quality of life.