The burden of hospitalised fall‐related injury in community‐dwelling older people in Victoria: a database study

Abstract

Abstract Objective: To estimate the burden of hospitalised fall‐related injury in community‐dwelling older people in Victoria. Methods: We analysed fall‐related, person‐identifying hospital discharge data and patient‐level hospital treatment costs for community‐dwelling older people aged 65+ years from Victoria between 1 July 2005 and 30 June 2008, inclusive. Key outcomes of interest were length of stay (LOS)/episode, cumulative LOS (CLOS)/patient and inpatient costs. Results: The burden of hospitalised fall‐related injury in community‐dwelling older people aged 65+ years in Victoria was 284,781 hospital bed days in 2005–06, rising to 310,031 hospital bed days in 2007–08. Seventy‐one per cent of episodes were multiday. One in 15 acute care episodes was a high LOS outlier and 14% of patients had ≥1 episode classified as high LOS outlier. The median CLOS/patient was nine days (interquartile range 2–27). The annual costs of inpatient care, in June 2009 prices, for fall‐related injury in community‐dwelling people aged 65+ years in Victoria rose from $213 million in 2005–06 to $237 million in 2007–08. The burden of hospitalised fall‐related injury in community‐dwelling older women, people aged 85+ years and those with comorbidity was considerable. Conclusions: The burden of hospitalised fall‐related injury in community‐dwelling older people aged 65+ years in Victoria is significantly more than previously projected. Importantly, this study identifies that women, patients with comorbidity and those aged 85+ years account for a considerable proportion of this burden. Implications: A corresponding increase in falls prevention effort is required to ensure that the burden is properly addressed.

Keywords

• falls
• older people
• length of stay
• inpatient costs
• hospitalisation