[Effects of introducing a risk manager for prevention of falls in a long-term care facility]

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of an effort to prevent accidental falls by supervising residents with a high risk of falling in a long-term care facility. Sixty-four subjects with physical disabilities or cognitive impairment who were receiving residential care participated in this study. The fall-risk manager kept the residents under observation through recreational activities or conversation. The intervention was carried out for 50 days, three times per week (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday), eight hours per day. There was no significant difference in the total number of falls between the intervention days and non-intervention days (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). However, introducing the fall-risk manager into the long-term care facility resulted in a slight improvement in cognitive function in the residents. Although this study did not show a significant beneficial effect for fall prevention, potential effects of fall-risk reduction were noted by the intervention method through introducing a fall-risk manager in a long-term care facility.