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Among adults aged
over 65 years, unintentional injuries are the seventh leading cause of death in the United
States. Of these fatalities, deaths from fall-related injuries are the greatest number. In
the United State, one of every three older persons (aged over 65 years) living in
community fall every year. This trend increases to 50% by the age of 80 years (Blake et
al., 1988; O'Loughlin et al., 1993). An older person living in community has the
likelihood of falling as 0.2 – 0.8 times per year. The incidence rate of falls is
substantially higher in hospitals and nursing homes as of 1.5 falls per bed per year
(range 0.2-3.6). |