Fall prevention interventions in primary care to reduce fractures and falls in people aged 70 years and over: the PreFIT three-arm cluster RCT.

Background: Falls and fractures are a major problem.

Objectives: To investigate the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of alternative falls prevention interventions.

Design: Three-arm, pragmatic, cluster randomised controlled trial with parallel economic analysis.

Focused educational intervention improves but may not sustain knowledge regarding falls management.

Background: The number of falls in hospital ranges from 3.8 to 8.6 falls per 1000 bed days.

Nurses' perceptions of preventing falls for patients with dementia in the acute hospital setting.

Objectives: Safe and high-quality care for patients with dementia is a key priority area of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care; however, caring for patients with dementia in the acute hospital setting is perceived as challenging. The aim of this analysis was to explore nurses' perspectives regarding fall prevention for patients with dementia in an acute care setting.

Methods: Secondary analysis of focus group data.

Does the timed up and go test predict future falls among British community-dwelling older people? Prospective cohort study nested within a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Falling is common among older people. The Timed-Up-and-Go Test (TUG) is recommended as a screening tool for falls but its predictive value has been challenged. The objectives of this study were to examine the ability of TUG to predict future falls and to estimate the optimal cut-off point to identify those with higher risk for future falls.

Falls prevention in hospitals and mental health units: an extended evaluation of the FallSafe quality improvement project.

Background: inpatient falls are a major patient safety issue causing distress, injury and death. Systematic review suggests multifactorial assessment and intervention can reduce falls by 20-30%, but large-scale studies of implementation are few. This paper describes an extended evaluation of the FallSafe quality improvement project, which presented key components of multifactorial assessment and intervention as a care bundle.

Older people's experiences of therapeutic exercise as part of a falls prevention service: survey findings from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Introduction: falling, and fear of falling, significantly affect older people and their lifestyle resulting in loss of confidence, restriction of activity and deteriorating quality of life. Multi-factorial assessment and active participation in an evidence-based exercise programme are key interventions to prevent and manage falls.

Objective: to examine older people's experiences of therapeutic exercise as part of a falls prevention service in NHS Trusts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Changes in falls prevention policies in hospital in England and Wales.

Background: in 2007, the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) published 'Slips trips and falls in hospital' and 'Using bedrails safely and effectively'.

Objectives: this observational study aimed to identify changes in local policies in hospitals in England and Wales following these publications.

Method: policies in place during 2006 and 2009 were requested from 50 randomly selected acute hospital trusts and their content was categorised by a single reviewer using defined criteria.

The National Falls and Bone Health Audit: implications for UK emergency care.

Introduction: The National Clinical Audit of Falls and Bone Health, coordinated by the Royal College of Physicians, assesses progress in implementing integrated falls services across the UK against national standards and enables benchmarking between service providers. Nationally, falls are a leading contributor towards mortality and morbidity in older people and account for 700,000 visits to emergency departments and 4 million annual bed days in England alone.

Methods: Two rounds of national organisational audit in 2005 and 2008 and one national clinical audit in 2006 were carried out based on indicators developed by a multidisciplinary group.

The development of an Integrated Care Pathway for all patients with advanced life-limiting illness - the Supportive Care Pathway.

Aim: To describe the development and implementation of an Integrated Care Pathway for all patients with advanced life-limiting illness who have been admitted to hospital.

Background: This pathway, called the Supportive Care Pathway, has been developed not only in response to the national drivers to improve end of life care, but also in recognition of local survey data which demonstrated the need for strategies to support the provision of palliative care. The pathway is aimed primarily at generalist staff who may have a significant number of patients with palliative care needs on their wards, though not necessarily yet in the last days of life.