Individual Factors of Fall According to Time of Day in a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly

Abstract

[Purpose] The circumstances of falls in a residential care facility for the aged were investigated and analyzed according to the time of day, to clarify the characteristics of individual factors of falls. [Subjects and Methods] The first falls of 94 residents of a care facility in Fukushima City were investigated. Age, gender, height, weight, care level, activity category, dementia category, ADL assessment, grip strength, Hasegawa Scale, 10-meter gait, BPSD of the subjects, and the place of the fall were assessed and compared according to the time of the fall. [Result] There were 39 falls in the day (09:01~17:00), 32 falls in the evening (17:01~01:00), and 23 falls in the morning (01:01~09:00). Fallers in the morning period had significantly shorter height and BPSD nighttime insomnia, and a larger number of corridor falls. [Conclusion] Short subjects with nighttime insomnia using corridors in the small hours and early morning have a high risk of fall, and therefore require attention.