Falls in the elderly: what can be done?
OBJECTIVE
This article gives information about falls in the elderly.


BACKGROUND
The evaluation of an older patient who has fallen includes a focused history with an emphasis on medications, risk factors and physical examination. The article also discusses the aetiology and prevention of falls.


CONCLUSIONS
Risk factors for falls in the elderly include increasing age, medication use, cognitive impairment and sensory deficits. To reduce the incidence of patient falls, clinicians and researchers have developed a variety of risk assessment tools to aid in the identification of patients at greater risk of falling.
Akyol
A D
AD
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey. asiye.durmaz@ege.edu.tr
D000004:Abbreviations as Topic; D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000191:economics / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000061:Accidents, Home / Q000517:prevention & control; D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017281:Cost of Illness; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D005851:Geriatric Nursing; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007374:Interior Design and Furnishings; D008487:Medical History Taking; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000379:methods / Q000451:nursing; D011322:Primary Prevention; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D017751:Safety Management / Q000379:methods*