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Falls - risk assessment - Management
Basis for recommendation
These recommendations are based on the National Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Supportive Care guideline, Clinical practice guideline for the assessment and prevention of falls in older people [National Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Supportive Care, 2004] commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
- NICE recommends that a multifactorial risk assessment should be performed by healthcare professionals with appropriate skills and experience, normally in the setting of a specialist falls service. This assessment should be part of an individualized, multifactorial intervention; it might include an assessment of falls risk, a cardiovascular examination, a medication review, and assessment of:
- Gait, balance, mobility, and muscle weakness.
- Osteoporosis risk.
- Perceived functional ability and fear related to falling.
- Visual impairment.
- Cognitive impairment and neurological examination.
- Urinary incontinence.
- Home hazards.
- CKS identified no evidence of single interventions that reduce the risk of falls, but acknowledges that in some circumstances this would be good clinical practice (for example referral to an optician for visual problems).
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