| OCR Text |
Show SPRING 2013 Sofia Rivera Linda S. Edelman FALLS OCCURRING TO OLDER ADULTS IN UTAH Sofia Rivera (Linda S. Edelman) College of Nursing University of Utah Purpose: To describe fall injuries occurring to older Utahans. Background: Approximately one third of older adults fall each year. Injuries from falls can result hospitalization, loss of independence, and possibly death. Methods: The Utah Emergency Department (ED), Hospital Discharge and vital records databases were searched to identify adults 65 plus years and older w h o were treated for, or died from, fall injuries during 2007-2008. Descriptive statistics were used to describe circumstances, treatments and outcomes of the resulting 16,848 fall injuries. Results: Falls accounted for 57% of injuries occurring to older adults during the study period. majority of falls (68%) occurred to w o m e n and the mean age was 79 ± 8 years. The majority (59%) of falls were from the ground level. Older adults with falls were most likely to first be treated at an ED (79%) and 3 9 % were hospitalized for an injury. During the study, 6 3 % of older adults who fell had multiple ED visits and 3 3 % had multiple hospitalizations. Consequently, older adults who fell accrued 25,572 injury-related and 8,173 non-injury related ED visits and hospitalizations. Less than 2 % of older adults w h o fell died from an injury, but another 1 3 % died from non-injury causes. However, 2.6% of adults 85+ years died from injury-related and 24.5% from non-injury related causes. Conclusion: Fall injuries contribute to a large number of ED visits and hospitalizations in Utah. W o m e n are at higher risk of falling, particularly from the ground level. Age is associated with a greater risk of death following a fall injury. Whether this increased risk is related to the fall injury itself or a reflection of general health status remains to be elucidated. Demographics and Injury Circumstances Ground Level Fall n (%) Female n (%) Aqe (mean±s.d.) Rural (%) Urban (%) 9,945(59.0) 6,949 (69.9)* 79.26±8.13* 2,866 (60.2) 7,079 (58.6) Different Level Fall 6,903(41.0) 4,566 (66.2) 78.99±8.20 1,897(39.8) 5,006 (41.4) Total 16,848 11,515(68.4) 79.15±8.16 4,763 (28.3) 12,085 (71.7) Age Categories of Falls • Ground Level Fall Different Level Fall 59% 60% 41% <85 85+ Location of Fall Ground Level Different Level 'Home 'Public Building ' Residential Institution ' Other |
