Preventing Falls in Aged Care
Published: 23 May 2024
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Published: 23 May 2024
Falls in older people are often serious, resulting in functional decline, reduced quality of life, loss of independence and, in severe cases, even death (Stefanacci & Wilkinson 2023).
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2023), 140,000 people over 65 years of age were admitted to hospital due to a fall in 2021-2022.
Despite these alarming statistics, most falls are preventable.
A fall is ‘an event that results in a person coming to rest inadvertently on the ground or floor or other lower level’ (DoHaAC 2023).
Most falls occur due to a combination of both intrinsic (personal) and extrinsic (environmental) factors. The more risk factors that are present, the more likely the person is to fall (Queensland Health 2022). Some common risk factors include:
Intrinsic risk factors | Extrinsic risk factors |
---|---|
|
|
(WA DoH 2024; Queensland Health 2022; Clay et al. 2018)
Changes to the body due to the normal ageing process can worsen existing risk factors or cause new ones to arise. Inadequate physical fitness, poor nutrition or hydration, and illnesses or other conditions may compound this risk further (Healthdirect 2023).
Older people are 12 times more likely to fall than have a motor vehicle or pedestrian accident (Better Health Channel 2022). Falls are the biggest cause of unintentional injury in older people over 65 (Healthdirect 2023), with this age group accounting for 60% of fall hospitalisations in Australia (AIHW 2023).
Overall, about one-quarter of older people fall every year (Healthdirect 2023).
Risk factors associated with age include:
(Healthdirect 2023; Better Health Channel 2022)
Even in cases where an injury does not occur, the person may develop a fear of falling that reduces their confidence and independence. This, in turn, only increases their risk of falling again in the future, as reduced physical activity can lead to poor balance, muscle weakness and stiff joints (Stefanacci & Wilkinson 2023; Healthdirect 2023).
Falls can lead to a variety of physical, emotional, social, short-term and long-term consequences, including:
(Stefanacci & Wilkinson 2023; Better Health Channel 2022; Healthdirect 2023)
Standard 5: Clinical Care - Outcome 5.5: Clinical Safety under the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards (Action 5.5.4) requires aged care providers to establish processes for reducing falls and harm from falls by:
(ACQSC 2024)
Preventing falls requires a multifactorial approach that addresses each person’s modifiable risk factors (Clay et al. 2018).
Vulnerable people should be identified using a validated falls risk assessment tool, and appropriate interventions should be implemented. Multiple solutions will likely need to be implemented to target several individual risk factors (Clay et al. 2018).
The following are some universal precautions that aged care staff can take to prevent falls:
(Performance Health 2019; ACSQHC 2009; Healthdirect 2023; Better Health Channel 2022)
Question 1 of 3
Which one of the following is an example of an effective falls prevention strategy in aged care settings?