Falls in Older People at Home: Risk Factors and Intervention Strategies

Abstract

Most homes contain environmental hazards and many older people suffer trips and slips inside their homes and immediate surroundings. The interaction between an older person's physical abilities and their exposure to environmental hazards seems crucial to understanding the role of environmental hazards in falls. There may be a non-linear pattern between mobility and falls associated with hazards. Household environmental hazards appear to pose the greatest risk for older people with fair balance, whereas those with poor balance are less exposed to hazards and those with good mobility are more able to withstand them. Reducing hazards in the home has not been shown to be an effective falls prevention strategy in the general older population and those at low risk of falls. However, home hazard reduction is effective if targeted to older people with a history of falls and visual and mobility limitations. The effectiveness may depend on providing complementary mobility training and other strategies for increasing behaviour change.