Changes in Emergency Department and Inpatient Encounters for Falls after the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
J Appl Gerontol
; : 7334648241266434, 2024 Jul 20.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39030725
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
This study investigates changes in clinical encounters due to falls before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.METHODS:
De-identified health record data from a large mid-western health system was used to examine the frequency of emergency department (ED) and inpatient (IP) encounters for falls by month among adults age 50+ (N = 485, 886 patients) using joinpoint regression analysis. Also, overall rates before and during the pandemic were compared using log-binomial models.RESULTS:
Fall rates increased following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic for IP encounters but not for ED encounters. There were no differences by age, gender, race, or nSES. Monthly IP fall rates increased by 0.68% per month both before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.CONCLUSION:
Pandemics may occur in the future, and interventions are needed to prevent falls in older adults during the next public health emergency.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
J Appl Gerontol
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States