Preventing Falls

A fall is the mechanism of injury for most fragility fractures. Falls are preventable and should not be viewed as an inevitable consequence of the ageing process. Falls and fragility fractures frequently result in both short- and long-term disability and can be life-changing with considerable deterioration in health-related quality of life, increased dependency and social isolation.

The causes of falls are individual and multifactorial. Risk factors interact dynamically and can be broadly classified into three main categories: demographic, intrinsic and extrinsic. Frailty, sarcopenia, falls and fragility fractures are linked and should be identified and receive proper intervention.

Evidence-based processes and tools for interdisciplinary screening, assessment and management of risk of falling are available and can guide healthcare professionals. Involving patients and their families is essential in developing and implementing a person-centred fall prevention care plan. Nurses are central to fall prevention strategies in both hospital and community settings, working collaboratively with the entire interdisciplinary team, but most often with physiotherapists.

The aim of this chapter is to explore the role of the practitioner working in acute hospital units, ambulatory care/outpatient clinics and community/home care settings and with people transitioning from hospital to home in preventing further falls in older people who have sustained a fragility fracture.