Study finds no link between elderly patient activity and hospital falls

Elderly patients who suffered in-hospital were found to be no more active than patients who did not fall, according to a study from the University of Texas.

Investigators for the retrospective case-control study, published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, analyzed the mobility patterns of elderly patients aged 65 years or older who were fitted with small electronic devices that counted their steps.

“We matched 10 patients who had fallen with 25 who had not fallen based on age, gender, reason for admission, illness severity and mobility status before admission,” Steven Fisher, PT, PhD, stated in a University of Texas press release. “All of these people had worn step activity monitors during their stay in the hospital and when we analyzed the data from these devices, we found no statistical difference in the amount of walking between the groups.”