The effectiveness of a recurrent fall prevention program applied to elderly people undergoing fracture treatment

Background: Worldwide 30-40% of people aged of 65 and over fall each year. It is important to develop preventive interventions for falls in the elderly to prevent injuries leading to mortality and morbidity. Objectives: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a recurrent fall prevention program in elderly individuals undergoing fracture treatment. Methods: A pretest-posttest intervention study. A recurrent fall prevention program including assessment of fall risk factors, education on falls and home modifications was developed for elderly people undergoing fracture treatment for 52 patients. Results: In the first evaluation before the delivery of the recurrent fall prevention program, the number of risk factors was 17.63 +/- 3.40 as mean +/- standart deviation. Following implementation of the fall prevention program, the number of risk factors decreased to 15.73 +/- 3.19 in the first follow-up and decreased to 14.92 +/- 3.06 in the second follow-up. Knowledge scores increased to 6.09 +/- 1.65 in the first follow-up and to 6.71 +/- 1.53 in the second follow-up, while it was 5.50 +/- 1.54 in first evaluation. The differences between follow-ups were statistically significant. During the 3-month study period, 15.4% of participants experienced fall. Conclusion: The recurrent fall prevention program was effective in reducing fall-related risk factors and increase fall knowledge. Health care professionals should assess older people for fall risk factors and increase their awareness for falls.