Falls in Older People in Domestic and Leisure Settings – data from EVITA system

Alves, Tatiana; Santos, Ana; Rodrigues, Emanuel; Mexia, Ricardo; Neto, Mariana; Matias-Dias, Carlos

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/6965

Use this identifier to reference this record.

Name:	Description:	Size:	Format:
Falls in Older people_EU_Safety.pdf		1.59 MB	Adobe PDF	Download

Send Feedback

Authors

Abstract(s)

Accidents at home and in leisure context (HLA), especially those reaching one of the most vulnerable groups of the population such as in the elderly, require the planning, execution and evaluation of preventive interventions and mitigation of the consequences based on epidemiological evidence. The aim of this study was to estimate the frequency of HLA using hospital emergency unit due to fall in patient aged 65 and over and their characterization considering the place of occurrence, type of injury, follow-up in health services and products involved in the accident, in 2018, in Portugal. Were analysed data from the EVITA system, fed by the HLA registry at the emergency room of the NHS hospital units that participate in this system. Of the 38 hospitals able to participate in EVITA, data came from 21. The frequency and distribution of falls were analysed according to the place of occurrence, type of lesion, hospital referral and products involved. Bivariate comparisons were performed for the categorical variables using the Pearson Chi-square test. The level of significance of the test was set at 5%. In 2018, 30 196 falls of people aged 65 and over were recorded in the EVITA system. The results show more frequently falls in females (65.4%) than in males (34.6%), being these differences statistically significant (p<0,01). The majority of falls occurred at home (64.4%), followed by public areas (9.7%) and outdoor spaces (9.0%), these differences were statistically significant (p<0,01). The type of lesion most frequently observed was bruise (64.1%) and open wound (14.9%). Following the accident caused by falling, 51.5% of the victims were referred to the "unreferenced exterior”, 29.2% to "referral for consultation", 13.7% have had need of hospitalization and 0,01% were deaths. Considering that a significant fraction of falls can be prevented, this information reinforces the importance of this problem and its magnitude. In addition suggests to targets of prevention programs, future lines of research on specific groups, mechanisms of injury and deepening of research about determinants of falls in older people.

Keywords

Home and Leisure Accident Fall EVITA Emergencie Room Hospitals Older People Home Safety Determinantes da Saúde e da Doença Estados de Saúde e de Doença Cuidados de Saúde