The Long-Term Trends of the Association Between Falls Among the Elderly in Taiwan and their Utilization of Medical Facilities

Background: Every year many adults aged 65 and over, suffer falls. This study used longitudinal data to investigate the long-term trend of falls among the elderly in Taiwan, and the association between falls and the utilization of medical facilities. Methods: This study included 1653 elderly adults who completed questionnaires for a nationwide survey at different times. The data were analyzed with Chi-square test, independent-sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, Scheffe's post-hoc analysis and Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE), using SPSS 19.0 and Stata version SE 11.0. Results: The proportion of elderly who had fallen has been increased 1.6 times from 1999 to 2007. The probability of using the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinics (RR = 1.44) for those who had fallen was higher, as well as these of using the ER (RR = 1.81) and hospital (RR = 1.89), and the number of days hospitalized (RR = 1.85). There was no significant difference in their use of western medicine clinics (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The government should provide appropriate medical care and services to reduce the incidence of falls in elderly and their uses of medical resources, thus improving elderly adults' quality of life