| |
Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
 | |
|
| Systematic review of non-transportation rates and outcomes for older people who have fallen after ambulance service call-out | | Author(s) | A Stefanie Mikolaizak |
| Journal title | Australasian Journal on Ageing, vol 332, no 3, September 2013 |
| Publisher | Wiley Blackwell, September 2013 |
| Pages | pp 147-157 |
| Source | http://www.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ajag |
| Keywords | Falls ; Ambulance services ; Accident & emergency depts ; Accident prevention ; Aftercare ; Australia ; Literature reviews. |
| Annotation | The purpose of the present study, based in New South Wales, was to review the literature on older people who had fallen but were not transported to an emergency department (ED) after the emergency ambulance response. The aim was to summarise the evidence in relation to (i) non-transportation rates, (ii) outcomes following non-transportation, and (iii) outcomes from alternative care pathways for non-transported older people who had fallen. Electronic databases and reference lists of included studies (up to December 2011) were systematically searched. Studies were eligible if they included data on non-transportation rates, information on outcomes or alternate care pathways for older people who had fallen. Twelve studies were included. Non-transportation rates following a fall ranged from 11% to 56%. Up to 49% of non-transported people who had fallen had unplanned health care contact within 28 days of the initial incident. Attendance by specially trained paramedics and individualised multifactorial interventions significantly reduced adverse events including subsequent falls, emergency ambulance calls, emergency department attendance and hospital admission. Limited but promising evidence shows that appropriate interventions can improve health outcomes of non-transported older people who have fallen. Further studies are needed to explore alternate care pathways and promote more efficient use of health services. (JL) |
| Accession Number | CPA-131003207 A |
| Classmark | OLF: O8: LD6: OQ: LN: 7YA: 64A |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
|
| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
| |
|