Fall and fracture rates following a change from carpet to vinyl floor coverings in a geriatric rehabilitation hospital. A longitudinal, observational study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether changing from 5 mm thick carpet tiles to vinyl on a concrete subfloor would alter fall or fracture rates. DESIGN: Longitudinal, observational study. SETTING: Six wards (129 beds) of a geriatric rehabilitation hospital. SUBJECTS: All inpatients during this time. INTERVENTIONS: The floor covering was changed from 5 mm carpet tiles to vinyl on these wards when they were closed for other maintenance. This occurred in stages from November 2007 to December 2009. MEASURES: Falls are routinely reported using a quality improvement event reporting form. Fall and fracture rates were calculated in the 12 months prior to and following the change in floor covering on each ward. RESULTS: There were 854 falls on the carpet tiles in the 12 months prior to the flooring change and 878 falls on the vinyl in the 12 months after (19.5 and 19.6 falls/1000 bed days, respectively, [P = 0.95] NS. Fifteen fractures occurred on carpet and 11 fractures on vinyl, [P = 0.39] NS. Using run charts there were no detectable trends in either the fall or fracture rates following the change in flooring surface. CONCLUSION: There may be no difference in fall rates or fractures on carpet or vinyl floor covering of similar thickness and subfloor type.