Valincidenten in verpleeghuizen: gemiddeld bijna 2 per bed per jaar met bij 1,3% een fractuur als gevolg

To determine how many falls occur annually in Dutch nursing homes and how many fractures are the result of falls.

Design

Written questionnaire study.

Method

All 371 Dutch nursing homes received a questionnaire requesting information on the number of somatic and psychogeriatric beds and the number of falls and fractures as a result of falls in 2000 and 2001.

Results

Of the 371 questionnaires, 202 (54) were returned. These were distributed as follows over the three types of nursing homes: combined: 151 (75), somatic: 15 (7), psychogeriatric: 36 (18). The average capacity of the participating nursing homes was 180 beds. There was an average of more than 300 reported falls per nursing home: 336 in 2000 (SD: 180; median 314) and 311 in 2001 (SD: 165, median 294). On average, there were almost 2 falls per bed per year. The number of falls per bed in the psychogeriatric group was higher than in the somatic group. There was an average of about 4 fractures per year per nursing home as a result of falls: 4.3 in 2000 (SD: 3.7; median 4.0) and 3.6 in 2001 (SD: 2.8; median 3.0). The average number of annual fractures due to a fall was about 23 per 1000 beds. An average of 1.3 of the falls resulted in a fracture. There were no clear differences here between somatic and psychogeriatric patients.

Conclusion

The reported number of falls per nursing-home bed averaged almost 2 per year, and an average of 1.3 of these falls resulted in a fracture.

Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd 2005;149:1043-7