Improving fall risk assessment to reduce falls in assisted living communities

Falls in older adults are a safety issue in all healthcare settings, one measure of care quality, and the primary cause of unintended death among New Mexican adults aged 65 and older. Falls and fall-related interventions have been extensively investigated in acute and post-acute care settings. However, limited evidence exists regarding the priority placed on falls and fall reduction practices in assisted living communities.

An estimated 3 million older adults are treated annually for fall-related injuries in U.S. emergency departments, and more than 800,000 are hospitalized, leading to increased healthcare costs, emergency room and hospital overcrowding, decreased quality of life, and premature death. Fall injuries not only lead to substantial morbidity and mortality, in 2015, $31.3 billion was spent on falls adults 65 years and older. With fall injury and related healthcare use expected to increase, understanding the priority of falls and current fall reduction practices in assisted living and other communities will be essential in guiding futurefall risk assessment and reduction practices in the aging assisted and community-dwelling adult population.

The audience take away from presentation:The audience will ...

• Understand the impact of falls in the U.S.,
• Identify what methods are currently used in their organization to assess fall risk in residents, and
• Apply the information presented to develop effective fall risk assessment interventions in their practice settings.