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Preventing falls and falls-injuries in hospitals and long-term care facilities

Part of: Bespoke shallow archive Weizmann

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2007

David Oliver
David Oliver*
Affiliation:
University of Reading, School of Health & Social Care, Reading RG1 5AQ, UK
*
Address for correspondence: D. Oliver, University of Reading, School of Health & Social Care, Reading RG1 5AQ, UK.
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Falls are predominantly a problem of older people. In the UK, people over 65 currently account for around 60% of admissions and 70% of bed days in hospitals. There are approximately half a million older people in long-term care settings – many with frailty and multiple long-term conditions. The proportion of the population over 65 years is predicted to rise 25% by 2025, and that over 80 by 50%, with a similar increase in those with dependence for two or more activities of daily living. Despite policies to drive care to the community, it is likely that the proportion of older people in hospitals and care homes will therefore increase. Accidental falls are the commonest reported patient/resident safety incidents. Similar demographic trends can be seen in all developed nations, so that the growing problem of fall prevention in institutions is a global challenge. There has been far more focus in falls-prevention research on older people in ‘community’ settings, but falls are a pressing issue for hospitals and care homes, and a threat to the safety of patients and residents, even if a relatively small percentage of the population is in those settings at any one time.

Type
Clinical geriatrics
Information
Reviews in Clinical Gerontology , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , May 2007 , pp. 75 - 91
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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