Nursing outcome indicator: preventing falls for elderly people.

Falls among elderly people living in the community are costly for all concerned in both monetary terms and quality of life. Faculty and students in a nurse-managed clinic in partnership with elderly residents of a public housing unit were able to reduce the number of falls from 30% to 3%. Falls were reduced through a preventive plan that included assessment of intrinsic and extrinsic factors that cause falling and interventions for these recognized risk factors.