Affiliation
Department of Public Health, HSE Eastern Region, Dr Steevens' Hospital, Dublin 8. deirdre.carey1@mailf.hse.ieIssue Date
2005-06MeSH
Accidental FallsAge Distribution
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Female
Hospitalization
Humans
Ireland
Male
Sex Distribution
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Hospitalisations due to falls in older persons. 2005, 98 (6):179-81 Ir Med JJournal
Irish medical journalPubMed ID
16097510Abstract
This paper describes hospitalisations due to falls among people aged 65 years and over resident in the Eastern Region of Ireland. Of the 2,029 hospitalisations recorded for 2002, 78% were female and 68% were aged 75 years and over. Fractures accounted for 1,697 or 84% of cases with nearly half of them (841) sustained to the hip. Females were more likely to have a limb fracture whereas males were more likely to have a head injury. The total inpatient costs of the 2,029 hospitalisations were estimated at 10.6 million euros. Hip fractures were the costliest injuries as they accounted for 7.4 million euros (70%) of inpatient costs. There are also substantial additional costs implications for hip fractures as they constituted the majority (56%) of cases transferred to nursing/convalescent homes or long-stay health facilities. In keeping with an ageing population, the problem of injuries in older people is likely to increase over time and as falls are the dominant cause of those injuries, all acute and long-stay health facilities need to develop and implement fall prevention strategies for older people.Item Type
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
0332-3102Collections
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