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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| What is the prevalence of environmental hazards in the homes of dementia sufferers and are they associated with falls | | Author(s) | K Lowery, H Buri, C Ballard |
| Journal title | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 15, no 10, October 2000 |
| Pages | pp 883-886 |
| Keywords | Hazards ; Domestic accidents ; Falls ; Dementia ; Living in the community ; Care homes ; Nursing homes ; Quantitative studies ; Tyne and Wear. |
| Annotation | The frequency of environmental hazards in the home and care environments of patients with dementia and their association with falls was assessed in 65 dementia patients from Tyneside, using carer diaries and a safety assessment carried out by an occupational therapist using a home hazard checklist. Hazards were found in 20 (95%) of patients' own homes and 31 (74%) of residential or nursing home environments (care environments). Patients' homes had a mean of 5.4 hazards, compared to a mean of 1.8 hazards in care environments, with two or more hazards in 90% of patients' homes and 52% of care environments. Common hazards included low chairs, an absence of grab rails (toilet area), toilets too low, and a missing second bannister on the stairs. There was no significant association between the number of hazards and the number of falls, although 13 (10%) of falls could be attributed to a specific hazard. Rigorous assessment of the patients' environment revealed multiple rectifiable risks that were contributory to a significant minority of falls. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-001107214 A |
| Classmark | OK7: OL: OLF: EA: K4: KW: LHB: 3DQ: 86 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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