TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2024//
TI  - Managing falls onsite in residential aged care homes reduced hospitalisation: mixed methods results from the Falls Outreach and Residential Mobile Assessment Team (FORMAT) pilot study
JO  - Australasian journal on ageing
A1  - Bee, Andrea
A1  - Miller, Joseph
A1  - Pattison, Donna
A1  - Walker, Megan
A1  - Aldridge, Emogene
A1  - Hackett, Liam
A1  - Owen, Patrick J.
A1  - Marangon-Elliott, Renee
A1  - Buntine, Paul
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - OBJECTIVE: Falls are the leading cause of hospital transfer from residential aged care homes (RACHs). However, many falls do not result in significant injury, and ageing patients are exposed to complications while hospitalised. Inreach services are designed to reduce hospital transfer by providing care, support and assessment to residents at the RACH. This study evaluated a pilot inreach program targeting ageing patients following a fall. <br><br>METHODS: We conducted a prospective, mixed methods evaluation of a 5-month (May-September 2022) pilot implementation across 108 government-funded RACHs within a single health-care network in Melbourne, Australia. <br><br>RESULTS: A total of 123 residents (median [interquartile range] age: 88 [82, 94] years, female: 49%) were included in the intervention. The majority (n = 116, 94%) of residents were managed onsite and required no further investigation (n = 80, 69%) or treatment (n = 63, 54%). Among the seven residents referred to the emergency department (ED), two received hospital admission and five were transferred back to residential care. In the 7 days following referral to the intervention, four additional residents were referred to the ED and one received hospital admission. Qualitative feedback (n = 40) included specific comments relating to themes of general satisfaction (n = 20, 50%), compliments for staff (n = 16, 40%) and acknowledgement of comprehensiveness (n = 9, 23%). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a specialised fall assessment team to complement an existing geriatric-led RACH assessment service meant that a high rate of eligible residents were managed onsite, with very low need for subsequent hospitalisation. Residents, family members and caregivers expressed high rates of satisfaction with the service.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1440-6381
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajag.13336
ID  - ref1
ER  -