Day hospital fall prevention programme for elderly people to reduce re-presentation with fall

Abstract

Purpose. To review the outcome of a day hospital (DH) fall prevention programme in terms of the rate of re-presentation with fall within 6 months and the reasons for dropout. Methods. 115 patients aged 68 to 100 years who were medically stable and could benefit from the DH fall prevention programme were randomly selected. Of the 115 patients, 47 attended ≥2 sessions (completion group), 25 attended <2 sessions (non-completion group), and 43 were not referred (non-referral group). The decision to refer patients to the programme was made by the allied health team in the emergency department. Results. For patients who were not referred to the DH fall prevention programme, the reasons were unclear (n=22), safe discharge without the need for follow-up (n=15), too frail or from a nursing home (n=4), and refusal to participate (n=2). The most common reason for dropout from the programme was lack of interest (n=20), frailty (n=2), not contactable (n=2), and mobility problem (n=1). The rate of re-presentation with falls within 6 months was lowest in the completion group, followed by the non-completion group and the non-referral group (17% vs. 36% vs. 47%, p=0.009); the difference was significant between the completion and non-referral groups (p=0.001), and between the completion and non-completion groups (p=0.05). Conclusion. The DH fall prevention programme reduced the rate of re-presentation with fall within 6 months.