A Descriptive Analysis of Location of Older Adult Falls That Resulted in Emergency Department Visits in the United States, 2015 - Briana L. Moreland, Ramakrishna Kakara, Yara K. Haddad, Iju Shakya, Gwen Bergen, 2020

A Descriptive Analysis of Location of Older Adult Falls That Resulted in Emergency Department Visits in the United States, 2015 - Briana L. Moreland, Ramakrishna Kakara, Yara K. Haddad, Iju Shakya, Gwen Bergen, 2020

A Descriptive Analysis of Location of Older Adult Falls that  Resulted in Emergency Department

Visits in the United States, 2015—American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine

In a new article, published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, CDC describes the location in which fall injuries that result in emergency department (ED) visits commonly occur among older adults in the United States, and whether these locations differ by sex and age. Understanding sex and age differences related to fall location can be used to develop targeted prevention strategies.

Findings include : Older women had more fall-related ED visits than older men.  Almost 80% of older adults’ fall injuries that resulted in ED visits, happened at home.   More fall injuries occurred indoors (68%), compared to outdoors (32%) among community dwelling older adults.  72% of community dwelling women’s fall-related ED visits occurred indoors compared to 62% of men’s fall-related ED visits.

What can be done: Home modifications could avert more than 120,000 falls and $442 million in health care expenditures each year. Health care professionals can screen, assess, and intervene to reduce their older patient’s modifiable risk factors and offer solutions to help older patients remain healthy and independent longer.