M. Clare Robertson, PhD
Research fellow,
Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences,
University of Otago Medical School,
Dunedin, NZ.
A. John Campbell, MD, FRACP
Professor of Geriatric Medicine,
Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences,
Dean, Faculty of Medicine,
Dunedin, NZ.
Introduction
Falls are a common problem in older people and substantial healthcare resources are required for the treatment of injuries, for rehabilitation and for long-term care after a fall. For the older person and their family or caregivers, a fall can have serious consequences: trauma, pain, impaired function, loss of confidence in carrying out daily activities, loss of independence and autonomy, or even death.
Falls prevention strategies have been based on the multiple risk factors for falls and these are well defined in the literature.1 There is now good evidence from randomized controlled trials that carefully designed, single or multiple interventions can reduce falls in older people living in the community.2 There are fewer reports on the cost effectiveness of these strategies--useful information for making informed decisions on the allocation of scarce healthcare resources.
Figure 1 gives a list of the falls prevention strategies for community living older people that have been tested in randomized, controlled trials.
