Prevention Program Reduces

Fall-Related Injuries By 11 Percent

HARTFORD (AP) — Authorities say a program aimed at preventing falls among older Connecticut residents appears to be helping reduce injuries and cut medical costs.

A newly released study, published in the July New England Journal of Medicine, found an 11 percent drop between 2001 and 2004 in the use of fall-related medical services in Hartford County, officials said.

That came during a stepped-up campaign in which practitioners in home health care services, senior centers, and outpatient rehabilitation programs educated older residents about specific ways to help prevent falls.

The reduction translates to about 1,800 fewer emergency department visits or hospital admissions in Hartford County and $21 million less in acute care costs, according to the study.

Dr Dorothy Baker, a Yale School of Medicine research scientist and one of the study’s authors, said they compared fall-related injuries from Hartford County — where the intervention program was in place — to those in New Haven County.

About 3,000 practitioners in Hartford County focused on factors that could help prevent falls, including vision loss, better awareness of medications that could cause dizziness, improper footwear, loose rugs and uneven walkways, and other things.

“It’s now evidence-based that what they’ve done works and can help prevent falls,” said state Senator Toni Harp, D-New Haven.

Millions in taxpayer dollars could be saved in health care costs by expanding the interventions statewide and educating the elderly on ways to avoid risks of falling, she said.

For many older Americans, injuries from falling — such as a broken hip or head injuries — start a cascade of other problems, making it impossible to live independently any longer.

Experts say preventing a fall is sometimes as easy as adjusting blood-pressure medication or other prescriptions, replacing worn rubber tips on canes or walkers, or drinking more water to prevent dehydration and dizziness.

The Connecticut Collaboration for Fall Prevention says three of every ten people ages 70 and older will fall in any given year, and that half of them will not be able to get up on their own.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says falling is the leading cause of injury-related deaths among older Americans, and costs the country about $20 billion annually.

Dr Baker said it is important for people to continue to exercise as they age, and for relatives to help by preventing older family members from standing on ladders and chairs to clean gutters, change light bulbs, or check smoke detectors.

“It’s not rocket science, but it’s things people haven’t been thinking about over time,” she said of the interventions.

The state provided $400,000 in fall-prevention research funds during the 2007-08 budget year, which ended June 30. Senator Harp, the Senate chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said she would advocate for broadening the project to more regions of the state.