A Personalized Approach to Reducing Older Adults’ Risks for Fall-Related Injuries
Falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among older Americans and lead to 3 million emergency department visits every year. New research assessed a personalized approach to reducing older adults’ risks for fall-related injuries in typical primary care settings.
The STRIDE study found that having nurses tailor and administer fall-prevention plans for older adults at high risk resulted in an 8%-10% reduction in serious fall injuries, but this effect was not statistically significant.
Potential barriers to care and other factors that could account for why a more significant reduction in serious fall injuries were not seen when risk-reduction strategies shown to be effective in previous studies were deployed this way in real-world circumstances and settings.