Frailty and risk of re-hospitalisation and mortality for aged care residents following a fall injury hospitalisation

Objectives: To examine the role of frailty in risk of re-hospitalisation and mortality for aged care residents following a fall injury hospitalisation. Methods: Retrospective analysis of linked hospitalisation and aged care data of adults aged ≥65 years residing in aged care. A semi-competing risk analysis examined risk of hospital readmission. Results: Residents who had intermediate or high frailty, who were aged 70-79 or 80-89 years, who had 1-2 or ≥3 comorbidities, sustained a hip fracture, and who had either low, moderate or high complex health-care requirements had a higher risk of being readmitted to hospital. Frailty was not associated with mortality for those with no hospital readmission or mortality after readmission. Conclusion: Frailty is an important prognostic factor associated with readmission for residents of aged care hospitalised for a fall injury. Frailty screening could assist to identify people at a high risk of re-hospitalisation following a fall injury.