Circumstances and consequences of falls in independent community-dwelling older adults

Age and Ageing,  July, 1997  by William P. Berg,  Helaine M. Alessio,  Eugenia M. Mills,  Chen Tong

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Finally, based on the results of this study, preventive services should not solely target recurrent fallers, nor should the type of services necessarily differ for one-time and recurrent fallers. It would also be advisable for older adults in general to adopt safer behaviours (e.g. strategies to avoid hurrying) as well as to attempt to improve their physical and sensory capabilities. Finally, because most falls recorded during this study were believed by the fallers to have been preventable, it would be helpful for fallers to complete a systematic post-fall evaluation to identify individualized preventive strategies that would reduce the likelihood of reoccurrence.

Key points

* Fifty-two percent of community-dwelling older adults fell during a 1 year monitoring period.

* Fractures resulted from five of the 91 falls and eight other falls resulted in soft tissue injuries that required treatment by a physician.

* Trips and slips were the most prevalent causes of falls among community-dwelling older adults.

* Falls by men most often resulted from slips whereas falls by women most often resulted from trips.

* The circumstances and consequences of falls for one-time and recurrent fallers did not differ.

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