Prevalence of Older Hospitalised Adults with Sustained Fractures after a Fall in Regional Australian Hospitals

Emma Holden; Ruth Devin; Joyita Bhattacharya; Frances Waldie; Isabel Watt; Jo Wu

doi:10.3390/healthcare12131318

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Prevalence of Older Hospitalised Adults with Sustained Fractures after a Fall in Regional Australian Hospitals

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Prevalence of Older Hospitalised Adults with Sustained Fractures after a Fall in Regional Australian Hospitals

Emma Holden, Ruth Devin, Joyita Bhattacharya, Frances Waldie, Isabel Watt and Jo Wu

Healthcare, Vol.12(13), pp.1-8

2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12131318

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Abstract

older people

fall

regional hospital

Falls commonly occur in hospitals, particularly among older adults. Fractures in the older population can cause major morbidity, which can result in long hospital admissions and increased care costs. This study aimed to characterise the demographics of patients aged 65 years and over who fell in hospital and to determine the type of fractures they sustained. A descriptive study was undertaken to examine hospital data of older inpatients who had a fall during admission in two regional Queensland hospitals in Australia over a 2.5-year period. The prevalence of inpatient falls was 1.28%. Most falls were unwitnessed (77.34%) and they had an average of seven medical comorbidities. The mean age was 80.4 years and 63% were male. Women who fell were significantly older than men (p = 0.004). The mean length of stay of in-hospital fallers was 22.77 days and same admission mortality was 9.3%. Thirty-three fall events (3.8%) resulted in fractures, some with multiple injuries. The most common fracture was neck of femur, followed by rib, femur, and facial fractures. In conclusion, this study identifies the incidence of falls increased with age, most falls were unwitnessed, as well as provides evidence that patients with falls had multiple comorbidities and long hospital admissions. The data could be used to optimise fall prevention strategies and to refine post-fall assessment pathways.

Details

Title: Prevalence of Older Hospitalised Adults with Sustained Fractures after a Fall in Regional Australian Hospitals
Authors: Emma Holden - Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service
Ruth Devin - Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service
Joyita Bhattacharya - Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service
Frances Waldie - Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service
Isabel Watt - The University of Adelaide
Jo Wu (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Nursing
Publication details: Healthcare, Vol.12(13), pp.1-8
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date published: 2024
DOI: 10.3390/healthcare12131318
ISSN: 2227-9032
Copyright note: © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Data Availability: Data are contained within the article.
Organisation Unit: Healthy Ageing Research Cluster; School of Health - Nursing
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991042798902621
Output Type: Journal article

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