A longitudinal study of falls in an elderly population II. Some circumstances of falling

Some of the circumstances surrounding 651 falls which occurred in elderly residents of a standard care unit in a home for the aged are described. Falls occurred as frequently at night as during the day-time, and there was no significant variation by day of the week or by season. The great majority occurred inside the home, mainly in the resident's own suite. The subsequent morbidity varied according to the place of occurrence, the percentage of severe injuries being lower in falls occurring in toilets and elevators, and to a lesser extent hallways, compared with those occurring in other inside locations and outside. The commonest activity associated with falling was going to or returning from the toilet. However, one-third of day-time falls occurred when the resident was sitting in a chair. The severity of injury did not vary with associated activity. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed, particularly from the preventive viewpoint.