2013-06-07

Falls: assessment and prevention of falls in older people（NICE clinical guideline 161）

guidance.nice.org.uk

This guideline updates and replaces 'Falls' (NICE clinical guideline 21). The recommendations are labelled according to when they were originally published (see About this guideline for deta..显示全部 >>

This guideline updates and replaces 'Falls' (NICE clinical guideline 21). The recommendations are labelled according to when they were originally published (see About this guideline for details).Falls and fall-related injuries are a common and serious problem for older people. People aged 65 and older have the highest risk of falling， with 30% of people older than 65 and 50% of people older than 80 falling at least once a year.The human cost of falling includes distress， pain， injury， loss of confidence， loss of independence and mortality. Falling also affects the family members and carers of people who fall. Falls are estimated to cost the NHS more than £2.3 billion per year. Therefore falling has an impact on quality of life， health and healthcare costs.This guideline provides recommendations for the assessment and prevention of falls in older people. It is an extension to the remit of NICE clinical guideline 21 (published November 2004) to include assessing and preventing falls in older people during a hospital stay (inpatients). The new recommendations for older people in hospital (2013) sit alongside the original recommendations from the 2004 guideline. It is important to emphasise that all of the 2004 recommendations are just as relevant and important now as they were when they were originally published.