title: Fall risk factors in community-dwelling elderly who receive Medicaid-supported home- and community-based care services.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study identifies fall risk factors in an understudied population of older people who receive community-based care services.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected from enrollees of Ohio's Medicaid home- and community-based waiver program (preadmission screening system providing options and resources today [PASSPORT]). A total of 23,182 participants receiving PASSPORT services in 2005/2006 was classified as fallers and nonfallers, and a variety of risk factors for falling was analyzed using logistic regressions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The following factors were identified as risk factors for falling: previous fall history, older age, White race, incontinence, higher number of medications, fewer numbers of activity of daily living limitations, unsteady gait, tremor, grasping strength, and absence of supervision.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Identifying risk factors for the participants of a Medicaid home- and community-based waiver program are useful for a fall risk assessment, but it would be most helpful if the community-based care service programs incorporate measurements of known fall risk factors into their regular data collection, if not already included.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology & Gerontology, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA. yamasht@muohio.edu.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Haesang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.forename: A John
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Bailer
authors.forename: Ian M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Shahla
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mehdizadeh
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008484:Medicaid / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009820:Ohio; D012372:ROC Curve; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014481:United States