Abstract
There is no validated assessment of an older person’s risk of falling that is easily applied in primary care. We aimed to develop a two-part tool for use in primary care or the community. Part 1 includes a rapid assessment of the individual’s risk of falling for administration by clinical or non-clinical staff. Part 2 (for clinical staff) includes guidance on further assessment, referral and interventions. We assessed the predictive validity of part 1. Five items were included in part 1: history of any fall in the previous year, four or more prescribed medications, diagnosis of stroke or Parkinson’s disease, reported problems with balance, inability to rise from a chair without using arms. The presence of three or more risk factors had a positive predictive value for a fall in the next 6 months of 0.57 (95 per cent confidence interval 0.43–0.69). Less than three risk factors had a negative predictive value of 0.86 (0.82–0.89), and a specificity of 0.92 (0.88–0.94). The tool may be useful for identifying people who would benefit from further assessment of their risk of falling and appropriate intervention.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Journal of Public Health |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2004 |
Keywords
- the elderly
- falls risk assessment tool
- risk of falling