Falls in older people

One third of people aged over 65 fall each year. Falls are not an inevitable part of ageing, but the risks increase with age and are multifactorial. Falls can have serious consequences, causing fractures and head injury and resulting in prolonged hospital admissions, reduced mobility, fear of further falls, increased need for social support, and sometimes complete loss of independence and institutionalisation.

We have grouped together a series of peer-reviewed articles from Nursing Older People and Primary Health Care exploring different aspects of falls prevention and management.


Simulation-based training to teach nurses skills in falls assessment and prevention

Simulation-based training to teach nurses skills in falls assessment and prevention

A simulation-based training course was designed to support the development of nurses’ skills...

A qualitative study of primary healthcare professionals’ views of falls prevention

A qualitative study of primary healthcare professionals’ views of falls prevention

Falls in older people are a major cause of hospital admissions. Primary healthcare...

Older people's nutrition

Nutritional strategies to reduce falls risk in older people

A literature review found an association between increased falls risk and malnutrition,...

Open access
Blood pressure

Measurement of lying and standing blood pressure in hospital

Measuring lying and standing blood pressure (BP) is an important clinical observation in...

Visual health in older people

Preserving vision and promoting visual health in older people

Reduction in vision is not inevitable but a manageable consequence of getting older. Some...

Applying comprehensive geriatric assessment to investigate falls

This is the second article in a short series that presents case study examples of the use of...

Falls prevention

Assessment and prevention of falls in older people

In June 2013 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence updated and replaced its...

Vision

The effect of visual impairment on patients’ falls risk

When older people fall it can result in injuries and adversely affect quality of life....