Falling As a Hidden Health Problem: Trends and Prevalence of Falling Accidents at Home and Its Associated Factors in Tabriz, Iran, during 2006-2010

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, to date, no systematic study has been carried out in Tabriz city to investigate the extent, frequency, causes, and major outcome(s) of falling accidents in the houses of rural and urban areas of this city. The current study was, therefore, undertaken to address some of these issues.
In this cross-sectional retrospective study, 43170 individuals who referred to emergency units of hospitals as a result of falling accidents during 2006-2010 were studied. The data were collected from national registration program of incidents in a safe community. Gender, age, year, seasonal distribution, and place and outcome of injuries were considered in data analysis. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent t-test and chi-square test.
Findings: A total of 43170 falling accidents had been registered during the study period. Of the total registered patients, 56.6% were injured in the houses. Accidents, in general, were more common (52.9%) in women, than in men (47.1%). Accidents were more prevalent in children under 10 years of age (27.3%) followed by people of 20-29 years of age (16.6%). Seasonal distribution of the accidents revealed that they were more common in summer and less in winter in all age groups, except in people older than 70 years of age (more common in winter).
According to the results of this study, over 50% of falling accidents occurred in the house. Therefore, in order to reduce the rate and prevalence of this accident and its outcomes, designing appropriate educational programs and house environments according to ergonomic principles is recommended.