Trends in Geospatial Drivers of Fall-Related Hospitalizations and Asset Mapping of Fall Prevention Interventions for Vulnerable Older Adults Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Objective: Given that one in four older adults suffer potentially preventable falls annually, we aimed to identify areas with (a) delivery gaps of evidence-based programs (EBPs) targeting fall prevention among older adults, namely A Matter of Balance (AMOB), and (b) high rates of fall-related hospitalizations?hotspots. Method: Analyses included multiple geospatially linked datasets. Results: EBPs were delivered 1 time in 84 counties in 2012 and 90 counties in 2014. Factors associated with EPB delivery gaps (absence; p<.05) included high-density older adult areas, non-fall-related hospitalization hotspots, lower population density, nonmetropolitan areas, high-density Hispanic adult areas, and areas with limited access to home health care agencies. Hotspots for fall-related hospitalization numbered 64 in 2012 and 62 in 2014. Factors associated with hotspots included low-density older adult areas, having AMOB delivered 1 time annually, high population density, and high-density Hispanic adult areas. Discussion: In resource-finite settings (e.g., the aging services sector), identifying high priority areas allows for precise allocation of limited resources.

published proceedings

  • Journal of Aging and Health

altmetric score

  • 1.25

author list (cited authors)

  • Towne, S. D., Smith, M. L., Xu, M., Lee, S., Sharma, S., Smith, D., ... Ory, M. G.

citation count

  • 2

complete list of authors

  • Towne, SD||Smith, ML||Xu, M||Lee, S||Sharma, S||Smith, D||Li, Y||Fucci, Y||Ory, MG

publication date

  • June 2020