Senior being helped by nurse, staff member to use a walker

A new analysis of national data has found that residents living in residential care communities are at high risk for falls and related injuries.

Drawing from the 2018 National Post-acute and Long-term Care Study, investigators found that 26% of residents experienced a fall within the past 90 days, with more than one-third sustaining an injury.

The investigators aimed to update 30-year-old epidemiological estimates of falls in long-term care settings using nationally representative data. Among 876 participants, representing 895,068 total residents, the researchers were able to quantify risk factors linked to falls and resulting injuries. Top factors included functional and cognitive impairment, multimorbidity and antipsychotic use, they found. Polypharmacy, measured as having nine or more medication prescriptions, also contributed to risk.

Fall rates did not differ by sex, race, use of Medicaid, visual impairment or number of comorbidities.

The study results contribute recent data to the literature on falls in the long-term care setting, the authors wrote in a research letter published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

“Falls often have serious consequences, especially in frail older residents,” they wrote. “Appropriate management of these acute and chronic conditions, including reducing inappropriate medication use, is a critical aspect of effective falls prevention,” they concluded.

The NPLTCS draws from a random national sample of licensed RCCs. Eligible communities were state-regulated; had four or more beds; and provided room, board and meals, 24-hour on-site supervision and help with personal care or health-related services. Those serving exclusively mentally ill, intellectually or developmentally disabled populations were not included in the study. 

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