Study: Americans not guarding well enough against injurious, deadly falls
| January 10, 2005 | |
| CHAPEL HILL – Americans have much room for improvement when it comes to preventing falls that cause serious injuries or death, a new study by University of North Carolina Injury Prevention Research Center staff concludes.”We found that 70 percent of U.S. households have stairs with four or more steps, but a third of households have at least one set of stairs with no railing,” said Dr. Stephen W. Marshall. “Only 25 percent of homes have grab bars and handrails in the bathroom, and only 25 percent use window guards or locking devices that could prevent children from falling out.”
Marshall, assistant professor of epidemiology and orthopaedics at the UNC schools of public health and medicine, is lead author of a paper appearing in the January issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Other contributors, all with UNC affiliations, are Drs. Carol Runyan, professor of health behavior and health education and of pediatrics; Tamera Coyne-Beasley, associate professor of pediatrics and medicine; and Anna E. Waller, research associate professor of emergency medicine. Others, formerly at UNC, are Dr. Jingzhen Yang of the University of Iowa, Dr. Renee M. Johnson of Harvard University and David Perkis of Purdue University. The study involved surveying 1,003 U.S. residents selected by random digit dialing from across the continental United States. Callers gathered safety-related and other information about homes and the people who lived there. Analysis of the resulting data also showed that almost half of households in which children age 6 or younger lived failed to use child safety gates on stairways. A third of homes with children under age 2 did not use those inexpensive devices. Fewer than one in five rental households had grab bars or handrails in bathrooms, but 55 percent reported bathroom antiskid strips or bath mats instead. Ladders with four or more steps were used in 60 percent of residences. “We compared households with different demographic and home structure characteristics, determining that fall hazards are prevalent in many types of households, and use of fall prevention devices is limited,” Marshall said. “Clearly, there is ample opportunity to increase the use of protective devices and further limit the presence of fall hazards in the vast majority of U.S. homes.” With the U.S. population aging, more fatal and injury-causing falls can be expected in the future if safety is not improved in homes, he said. Seven percent of study households reported that someone in or around their home sustained a fall requiring medical attention in the previous 12 months. “Falls are the second most common cause of unintentional injury death after motor vehicle crashes and the most common cause of hospital trauma,” Runyan said. “Falls are especially problematic for older adults. It is estimated that one in every three persons over age 65 falls every year in the United States.” The incidence of falls resulting in emergency department visits rises steadily with increasing age, reaching a rate of 13.3 per 100 person years in people ages 85 and older, Marshall said. That is more than four times the overall population average for falls. Reducing the incidence or severity of such accidents is worthwhile and might be accomplished through heightened public education and possibly revising building codes and regulations governing leasing rental property, he said. The Home Safety Council funded the UNC research as part of their State of Home Safety project. Additional support came from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. – 30 – This article was researched and written by David Williamson of UNC News Services. Note: Marshall can be reached at (919) 966- 1320 or steve_marshall@unc.edu Runyan can be reached at: carol_runyan@unc.edu. Contact: David Williamson, (919) 962-8596 For further information please contact Emily Smith either by phone at 919.966.8498 or by email at emily_smith@unc.edu |
