Home fall hazard assessments effective in high-risk fallers but more information needed on effects of assistive technologies

Commentary on: Clemson L, Stark S, Pighills AC, Fairhall NJ, Lamb SE, Ali J, Sherrington C. Environmental interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023 Mar 10;3(3):CD013258. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013258.pub2 Implications for practice and research Home fall hazard assessments are shown to be effective in fall prevention among community-dwelling older adults at higher risk of falls. Future work should investigate the feasibility of implementing these interventions in practice settings. It is uncertain whether assistive technologies can prevent falls in community-dwelling older adults, thus further research is needed. Context Nearly 30% of older adults aged 65 years and older fall each year.1 While falls are multifactorial and include both intrinsic and environmental factors, ‘accidental’ falls, such as trips and slips related to environmental hazards, are very common reasons provided for a fall.2 Identifying effective...
Source: Evidence-Based Nursing - Category: Nursing Authors: Tags: Care of the older person Source Type: research