[Functional mobility tests of proclivity for falls in nursing home patients]

Falls of nursing home patients can lead to serious injury and the start or increase of a downwards spiral as far as functional dependence is concerned. Interventions aimed at fall prevention can be successful, therefore it is important to be able to detect patients with a high risk of falling. Medline helped to research literature covering the diagnostic value (sensitivity and specificity) of the available functional (or performance-oriented) mobility tests. Thirteen prospective studies were found with descriptions of tests which make it possible to predict the risk of falling. The tests showed a large variation in the already limited sensitivity and to a lesser degree a variation in specificity. Although further research on functional mobility tests specifically for nursing homes is necessary, the Performance-oriented mobility assessment (POMA) is a reasonable test that can be used in a nursing home environment.