ABSTRACT

Nursing homes (NHs) are places where frail and vulnerable people reside, and falls are extremely common therein. Falls in NHs produce high rates of morbidity, mortality, hospitalizations, lawsuits, and excess expenses. Controlled studies have shown many strategies to be effective in reducing falls among older persons in a variety of locations, although fewer strategies have been shown to be effective in NHs because of the frailty of the NH population. The key to preventing falls in NHs involves a systematic approach that identifies risk factors and arranges interventions to reduce them, both among residents who have fallen as well as among those who have not yet fallen.