A Multidisciplinary Falls Consultation Service in a Nursing Home

Abstract

A Multidisciplinary Falls Consultation Service made possible a novel interdisciplinary approach to the patient as a faller. A team consisting of members from the medical, nursing, rehabilitation, administration, and activities departments reviewed epidemiological data on 323 falls and evaluated 24 patient referrals. Interventions at all clinical levels of staffing are being developed to reduce the risk of falling.

Falls Among Nursing Home Residents: An Examination of Incident Reports Before and After Restraint Reduction Programs

“…The rate of falling for the experimental group at posttest (3.01% of residents falling per week) became very close to the control group's overall rate of falls during the entire study period (3.34% of residents falling per week). Further, as in other studies, the majority of falls were nonserious 13,14 . The removal of restraints, then, did not so much place the experimental group at a higher level of risk for falling as it allowed them to take the same risks as others in the general nursing home population.…”

“…Today, we have the opportunity to comply with the letter and the spirit of the OBRA regulations. We can develop innovative programs for preventing falls among nursing home elderly 13 rather than tying them to their beds and chairs.…”

“…It is mandatory for nursing homes to document every resident accident, however trivial, on incident reports. Incident reports are the appropriate and usual method of tracking falls in long‐term care settings and have been used in other studies as well 5,13,17,18 . Data on falls were collected from incident reports using a form developed by the investigators to extract the necessary data.…”

“…Despite the fears of practitioners, the pre‐OBRA empirical literature dealing with falls suggests that the majority of falls in the nursing home setting do not result in serious injuries. This holds true even though the definition of serious and nonserious falls varies in different studies 13,14 . Perhaps more importantly, the relationship between falls and restraints remains inconclusive.…”

Measuring gait pattern in elderly individuals by using a plantar pressure measurement device

“…One-third of the elderly population experience a fall at least once a year, and the prevalence of multiple annual falls in this population is about 15% [1][2][3]. Fracture from falls occurs at a frequency of 5-10% in accidents [4][5][6], and 13% of elderly deaths are due to falls [7]. It is, therefore, necessary to establish effective fall prevention measures given the increase in the elderly population.…”