Comparison of fall-related traumatic brain injury in residential aged care and community-dwelling older people: a population-based study

Lara A. Harvey*, Rebecca Mitchell, Henry Brodaty, Brian Draper, Jacqueline C.T. Close

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective: To compare trends, causes, and outcomes of fall-related traumatic brain injury (TBI) between community-dwelling (CD) individuals and residential aged care facility (RACF) residents. Methods: Hospitalisation and RACF administrative data for 6635 individuals aged ≥65 years admitted to all NSW hospitals for fall-related TBI from 2008–2009 to 2012–2013 were linked. Results: Of the 6944 hospitalisations, 20.8% were for RACF residents. Age-standardised hospitalisation rates were almost fourfold higher for RACF residents than CD individuals (standardised rate ratio 3.7; 95% CI 3.4–4.1); but increased at a similar annual rate of 9.2% (95% CI 0.3–19.0) and 7.2% (95% CI 5.6–8.9), respectively. Compared to CD individuals: a higher proportion of falls in RACF residents were furniture-related (21.4% vs 9.9%); resulted in haemorrhage (82.5% vs 73.7%); and death (23.1% vs 14.9%). Overall, 7.7% of hospitalisations for CD individuals resulted in new permanent RACF placement. Conclusion: Residential aged care facility residents have higher hospitalisation rates and poorer health outcomes than their CD counterparts.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)144-150
Number of pages7
JournalAustralasian Journal on Ageing
Volume36
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2017

Keywords

  • falls
  • frail elderly
  • data linkage
  • traumatic brain injury

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Comparison of fall-related traumatic brain injury in residential aged care and community-dwelling older people: a population-based study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this