Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-27-2020

Comments

This article is the author’s final published version in Geriatric Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation, Volume 11, July 2020, Pages 1-9.

The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1177/2151459320943165. Copyright © Curran-Groome

Abstract

Falls affect more than 29 million American adults ages ≥65 years annually. Many older adults experience recurrent falls requiring medical attention. These recurrent falls may be prevented through screening and intervention. In 2014 to 2015, records for 199 older adult patients admitted from a major urban teaching hospital’s emergency department were queried. Open-ended variables from clinicians’ notes were coded to supplement existing closed-ended variables. Of the 199 patients, 52 (26.1%) experienced one or more recurrent falls within 365 days after their initial fall. Half (50.0%) of all recurrent falls occurred within the first 90 days following discharge. A large proportion of recurrent falls among older adults appear to occur within a few months and are statistically related to identifiable risk factors. Prevention and intervention strategies, delivered either during treatment for an initial fall or upon discharge from an inpatient admission, may reduce the incidence of recurrent falls among this population.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

PubMed ID

32782850

Language

English

Included in

Surgery Commons

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