In our study we observed a substantial decrease in patient fall rates and an increase of staff compliance with a newly implemented falls prevention program.
Falls in older persons are associated with fear of falling, lack of confidence, injuries, hospitalizations and, in some cases, death. 1 Although broadly implemented, falls prevention programs are a major burden to health care budgets worldwide.
Working with the Universities of Liverpool and Cambridge, the city council is implementing falls prevention and mitigation as part of its Age-Friendly City (AFC) initiative.
This study systematically reviewed and synthesised the effectiveness of methods to implement falls prevention programmes with this population.
The aims of the study were to determine the feasibility of surveying care staff regarding falls prevention, and describe care staff levels of knowledge and awareness of residents' risk of falls, knowledge about falls prevention, motivation and confidence to implement falls prevention strategies.
Physical therapists may implement fall risk assessment and prevention, as well as strengthening, stretching, and cardiovascular exercises.
Despite the availability of evidence-based guidelines for implementing falls prevention and other interventions in residential aged care, there is moderate evidence that these interventions are not routinely or easily incorporated into routine practice.
Despite the availability of evidence-based guidelines for implementing falls prevention interventions in residential aged care, there is moderate evidence that these interventions are not routinely incorporated into routine practice.
Additionally, stakeholder recommendations for further CPG implementation projects and assessments of the sustainability of the implemented Fall CPG were requested.
Many hospitals have implemented fall risk assessment tools, but few have implemented interventions to mitigate patient-specific fall risks.
