RT Journal Article
T1 Specialized Care Resources for Diagnosis and Management of Patients Who Have Suffered Falls: Results of a National Survey in Geriatric Units
A1 Bartolomé Martín, Irene
A1 Esteve Arríen, Ainhoa
A1 Neira Álvarez, Marta
A1 Cristofori, Giovanna
A1 Cedeno Veloz, Bernardo Abel
A1 Esbrí Víctor, Mariano
A1 Pérez Pena, Bárbara
A1 González Ramírez, Alfonso
A1 Caballero Mora, María Ángeles
AB Introduction: Clinical guidelines recommend comprehensive multifactorial assessment and intervention to prevent falls and fractures in older populations. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted by the Falls Study Group of the Spanish Geriatric Medicine Society (SEMEG) to outline which types of healthcare-specific resources were assigned for fall assessment in Spanish geriatric departments. A self-reported seven-item questionnaire was delivered from February 2019 to February 2020. Where geriatric medicine departments were not available, we tried to contact geriatricians working in those areas. Results: Information was obtained regarding 91 participant centers from 15 autonomous communities, 35.1% being from Catalonia and 20.8% from Madrid. A total of 21.6% reported a multidisciplinary falls unit, half of them in geriatric day hospitals. Half of them reported fall assessment as part of a general geriatric assessment in general geriatric outpatient clinics (49.5%) and, in 74.7% of cases, the assessment was based on functional tests. A total of 18.7% reported the use of biomechanical tools, such as posturography, gait-rides or accelerometers, for gait and balance analysis, and 5.5% used dual X-ray absorptiometry. A total of 34% reported research activity focused on falls or related areas. Regarding intervention strategies, 59% reported in-hospital exercise programs focused on gait and balance improvement and 79% were aware of community programs or the pathways to refer patients to these resources. Conclusions: This study provides a necessary starting point for a future deep analysis. Although this study was carried out in Spain, it highlights the need to improve public health in the field of fall prevention, as well as the need, when implementing public health measures, to verify that these measures are implemented homogeneously throughout the territory. Therefore, although this analysis was at the local level, it could be useful for other countries to reproduce the model.
PB MDPI
SN 1660-4601
YR 2023
FD 2023-05-27
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/103559
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/103559
LA eng
NO Bartolomé Martín, I.; Esteve Arríen, A.; Neira Álvarez, M.; Cristofori, G.; Cedeno-Veloz, B.A.; Esbrí Víctor, M.; Pérez Pena, B.; González Ramírez, A.; Caballero-Mora, M.Á.; on behalf of the Falls Study Group of Sociedad Española de Medicina Geriátrica (SEMEG). Specialized Care Resources for Diagnosis and Management of Patients Who Have Suffered Falls: Results of a National Survey in Geriatric Units. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 5975. https://doi.org/10.3390/ ijerph20115975
DS Docta Complutense
RD 6 abr 2025