Towne Samuel D, Smith Matthew Lee, Yoshikawa Aya, Ory Marcia G
1266 TAMU, Department of Health Promotion and Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Texas A&M Health Science Center, College Station, TX 77843-1266, USA.
Department of Health Promotion and Behavior, College of Public Health, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
J Safety Res. 2015 Jun;53:11-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jsr.2015.01.002. Epub 2015 Feb 7.
With the rapid growth of the aging U.S. population, the incidence of falls and fall-related injuries is expected to rise. We examined incidence and characteristics of fall-related hospitalizations (falls) among Texans aged 50 and older, by geography and across time.
We calculated fall-related hospitalization incidence rates (65 and older), identified fall 'hot spots,' and examined availability of fall-prevention programming.
The incidence of fall-related hospitalizations for older adults increased by nearly 20% from 2007 to 2011. There were clusters of 'hot spot' counties throughout the state, many of which lack fall prevention programs.
Increased efforts are needed to identify older adults at elevated risk for falling and develop referral systems for promoting evidence-based fall prevention programs at multiple levels accounting for geographic settings.
Geospatial investigations can inform strategic planning efforts to develop clinical-community partnerships to offer fall prevention programming in high risk areas.
随着美国老龄人口的迅速增长，跌倒及与跌倒相关的损伤发生率预计将会上升。我们按地理区域和时间跨度，对50岁及以上德克萨斯州居民中与跌倒相关的住院情况（跌倒）的发生率及特征进行了研究。
我们计算了（65岁及以上人群）与跌倒相关的住院发生率，确定了跌倒“热点地区”，并研究了预防跌倒项目的可及性。
2007年至2011年期间，老年人与跌倒相关的住院发生率增加了近20%。全州存在多个“热点”县集群，其中许多地区缺乏预防跌倒项目。
需要加大力度识别跌倒风险较高的老年人，并建立转诊系统，以便在考虑地理环境的多个层面推广循证预防跌倒项目。
地理空间调查可为战略规划工作提供信息，以建立临床-社区伙伴关系，在高风险地区提供预防跌倒项目。
