We are never finished preventing falls!

BY NEIL SUNDAY, DATA ANALYST

Falls Prevention
March 25, 2014 MHO

Did you know that falls are the sixth leading cause of death in older adults?1 This month’s special analysis email is a focus on falls. Who is at risk? What are the environmental hazards?

Fall Prevention – Best Practices

  1. Assessment & Care Planning
  2. Staff Education
    • – Direct Care Awareness
    • – Environment Awareness
  3. Patient/Family Education
  4. Technological Devices
  5. Reporting and Benchmarking
  6. Mobility/Strength Building Program

What’s at Stake?

Injuries

– Most common in persons 85 years of age and older

– Leading cause of injury deaths for people 65 and older

– Cause 87% of all fractures

– Second leading cause of spinal cord and brain injury

Who’s at Risk?

The Elderly

– The largest percentage of falls annually

– 30% of adults over 65 report falls each year

– The number of falls increases with age

Patient Factors

  • Sensory Loss
  • Depression/Cognitive Impairment
  • Previous Falls
  • Dehydration/Poor Nutrition
  • Dementia
  • Cardiovascular
  • Orthostatic Hypotension
  • Medication/Poly-pharmacy
  • Incontinence
  • Disruptive Sleep Cycle
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web–based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [online]. Accessed August 15, 2013.
* Minimum N=300; Fall rates greater than the National average; Patients have a maximum of 35 illnesses/categories to choose from. Please note that patients may have more than one comorbid illness.
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