• 한국전문물리치료학회지
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• 제28권1호
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• pp.1-12
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• 2021

While efforts have been made to address fall-related injuries in older adults, the problem is unsolved to date. The purpose of this review is to provide a guideline for fall and injury prevention programs in older adults, based on evidence generated over the past 30 years. Research articles published between 1990 and 2020 have been searched on PubMed, using keywords, including but not limited to, falls, hip fracture, injuries, intervention, older adults, prevention, hip protector, vitamin D, safe landing strategy, and exercise. Total of 98 articles have been found and categorized into five intervention areas: exercise program, hip protector, safe landing strategy, vitamin D intake, and compliant flooring. Furthermore, the articles have been rated based on their study design: class 1, randomized controlled trials; class 2, non-randomized controlled trials; class 3, experimental studies; class 4, all other studies. Exercise programs have shown to decrease the risk of fall, and associated injuries. Hip protectors, safe landing strategy, and vitamin D intake were effective in reducing a risk and incidence of hip fracture during a fall. Furthermore, compliant flooring has also decreased hip fracture risk without affecting balance. An integrated approach combining exercise program, wearing a hip protector, teaching safe landing strategies, scheduled vitamin D intake, and compliant flooring installation, is suggested to address fall-related injuries in older adults.

• 대한인간공학회지
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• 제9권2호
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• pp.11-20
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• 1990

Recorded injury identified the role of falls in producing injury througout all segments of the nation. The Economic and social costs arising from falls has been established in numerous sources, both nationally and from the intermational literature. Recorded injury also indicated the potential features of falls, the need for a basic understanding of the energy exchange mechanism involved and the subsequent rehabilitation processes required. It appears unlikely that any other major cause of injury has an etiology so little researched and consequently, so little understood, which in turn has prevented the development of an intervention strategy or a scientically based control technology of falls. This paper will emphasize how the postural changes of foot are related to slip/fall severity in different environmental conditions. Lidewise, we will examine the whole slip/fall cycle through the biomechanical parameters involved in a range of walking speed and floor slipperiness

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.12-17
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• 2009

Purpose: In this study, the prognostic significance of the Injury Severity Score (ISS) and the height of fall in free-fall patients were investigated. Methods: The medical records of 179 victims of falls from a height who were brought alive to the Emergency Department of Gyeongsang National University Hospital between January 2003 and December 2007 were analyzed. The age, the sex of the patients, the rate of admission, the hospital stay, the site of injury, the severity of injury, the rate of surgery, the site of the fall and the presence of alcohol intoxication were evaluated by using a retrospective review of the medical records. Injury severity was measured by using the ISS. Patients were categorized into four subgroups according to the height from where they had fallen. The data were statistically analyzed with using SPSS ver. 10.0. Results: The admission rates for the subgroups with falls of less than 3 stories were significantly lower than those for the subgroups with higher heights of falls (70.7% vs. 100%, p<0.05). These two subgroups showed statistically significant differences in mean hospital stay ($17.11{\pm}24.88$ vs. $56.73{\pm}49.21$, p<0.05), rate of operation (30.6% vs. 53.8%, p<0.05), and mean ISS ($6.86{\pm}4.97$ vs. $13.96{\pm}9.14$, p<0.05). In the correlation analysis, the ISS and the mean hospital stay showed the highest correlation with correlation coefficient of 0.666. Conclusion: In this retrospective analysis of 179 free-fall patients, we evaluated the prognostic factors affecting the outcomes for the free-fall patients. The patients who had fallen from heights of 3 stories or higher showed statistically significant higher rates of admission, longer durations of hospital stay, higher ISSs, and higher operation rates. The most accurate factor in predicting the length of hospital stay was the ISS.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제18권2호
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• pp.155-160
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• 2005

Background: Falls are a major cause of emergency room visits. Injury secondary to falls is a largely preventable public health problem. This study helps to better understand the epidemiology of falls from height, then develops prevention strategies. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 192 patients admitted to the emergency department of Konyang university hospital with a history of falls from January 2004 to December 2004. Collected data included the patient's age, gender, height of fall and method, outcome of management, Injury Severity Score(ISS). Results: According to the characteristics of height of fall, the ISS was higher when the patient fell from height of 2 meters or more($13.79{\pm}12.17$) than not($8.13{\pm}9.25$)(p<0.05). There were positive correlation between mean age and ISS(p<0.001, r=0.7). To gender, ISS was higher in the male group($12.73{\pm}11.78$) than the female group($8.48{\pm}10.00$)(p<0.05). Conclusion: Falls often results from multiple concurrent problems including environmental and behavioral factors. This study suggests that we need to improve the occupational environment, especially above 2meters, for decreasing injuries of fall from heights. Also we consider the prevention of children from injuries of fall from heights.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제29권6호
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• pp.132-136
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• 2014

Recently supporting policy of government for agricultural is changing from individual to workplace. For this reason, the number of industrial injury is increasing due to increase workplace in the agriculture. However, because the studies on the characteristics and causes of injury have not been performed, the effective measure for the prevention of industrial injury is difficult to establish. The aim of this study is to analyze the industrial injury characteristic and prepare the effective counterplan to prevent industrial injury of the workplace in the agriculture. This study analyzed 2,970 cases of industrial injury during the last five years (2008-2012) in the agriculture sector. The data was offered by Korean Occupational Safety and Health Agency. The results of analysis the industrial injury characteristic of the workplace in the agriculture, number of industrial injury for source of industrial injury was 12.3% in the outdoor floor and injury type was 23.1% in the fall. This study analyzed industrial injury characteristic which size and type of workplace, injury type and source of industrial injury through the case of industrial injury in agriculture. The result of this study will be helpful to identify the industrial injury characteristic in the agriculture and prepares the effective industrial injury prevention method.

• 한국학교ㆍ지역보건교육학회지
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.29-40
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• 2022

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between metabolic syndrome factor diseases and falls in the elderly aged 65 years or older and use them as basic data to reduce the risk of falls. Methods: The method of this study was to compare the injury-related characteristics of the fall and non-fall groups with a factor disease of metabolic syndrome in Korea over 65 years of age. Data from the 14th National Hospital Discharge In-depth Injury Survey in 2018 were used to conduct the study. A total of 7,991 data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0. Results: Among the total injuries, the fall group with metabolic syndrome factor disease accounted for 69.0% and the non-fall group 31.0%. Falls occurred in 86.3% of households. In the fall group with metabolic syndrome factor disease, the number of females was 1.9~2.1 times higher than that of males. Compared to 65~69 years of age, the incidence of falls was 1.4~1.5 times higher in 70~79 years, 1.7~2.2 times higher in 80~89 years, and 2.5~3.6 times higher in 90-year-olds and older. In NISS, the incidence of falls was 1.7 times higher in moderate compared to mild. In principle diagnosis, the incidence of falls was 2.2 times higher in S40-S99 compared to S00-S19. Conclusion: The elderly with metabolic syndrome factor disease should continue to promote health through light exercise that can strengthen muscle strength to prevent falls.

• 한국전문물리치료학회지
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• 제30권1호
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• pp.1-7
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• 2023

Background: Like many other countries, falls and related injuries in older adults are great concerns in South Korea. In particular, falls are common in medical institutions, often causing the increase of the length of hospitalization. Objects: The purpose of this review was to help understand and address falls in hospitalized individuals in South Korea. Methods: The review was conducted on literature published in Korean from 2010 to 2022, searched in the Korea Citation Index and PubMed. Keywords used for the search were as follows: falls, fall risk, fall risk assessment, hospital, inpatient, intervention, Korea, and prevention. Results: A total of 54 articles were found and reviewed. The most common place of fall accidents was the inpatient room, where there were many cases of falls while walking. Loss of balance was the most common cause of falls, and many falls occurred in patients admitted to the internal medicine. Furthermore, a risk of falling increased with the type of medications taken. In terms of tools to assess patients' fall risk, the Morse Fall Scale (MFS) was commonly used. Patient-specific fall prevention activities were common to address falls, and they decreased the frequency of falls and the fear of falling. Factors influencing the effectiveness of the fall prevention activities included attitudes toward falls, education, environmental factors, patient safety culture, and self-efficacy in preventing falls. Conclusion: Our results should help understand and address falls and injuries in medical institutions.

• 대한안전경영과학회지
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• 제16권3호
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• pp.317-326
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• 2014

Slips and falls are associated with many public injuries in Korea. It is also estimated that slipping are major contributors to slip, trip and fall injury burden. The primary purpose of the present study is to determine if, and to what extent, the standard could be improved in present environment. In order to fulfill our objective, the regulations in Korea and foreign countries were investigated and reviewed. Many kind of standard, mandatory documents and guideline were also reviewed. And then, regulations, standard, guideline etc. reviewed were compared with each others. Also, some criteria was developed in this study. Standard and criteria developed in this study will help to prevent slip, trip, and fall injuries.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제49권3호
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• pp.149-158
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• 2023

Background: Injury is one of the major health problems in South Korea. Few studies have evaluated both intentional and unintentional injury when investigating the association between exposure to air pollutants and injury. Objectives: We aimed to explore the association between short-term exposure to ambient air pollution and years of life lost (YLLs) due to injury. Methods: Data on daily YLLs for 2002~2019 were obtained from the the Death Statistics Database of the Korean National Statistical Office. This study estimated short-term exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of <10 ㎛ (PM₁₀), particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of <2.5 ㎛ (PM_2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O₃). This time series study was conducted using a generalized additive model (GAM) assuming a Gaussian distribution. We also evaluated a delayed effect of ambient air pollution by constructing a lag structure up to seven days. The best-fitting lag was selected based on smallest generalized cross validation (GCV) value. To explore effect modification by intentionality of injury (i.e., intentional injury [self-harm, assault] and unintentional injury), we conducted stratified subgroup analyses. Additionally, we stratified unintentional injury by mechanism (traffic accident, fall, etc.). Results: During the study period, the average daily YLLs due to injury was 307.5 years. In the intentional injury, YLLs due to self-harm and assault showed positive association with air pollutants. In the unintentional injury, YLLs due to fall, electric current, fire and poisoning showed positive association with air pollutants, whereas YLLs due to traffic accident, mechanical force and drowning/submersion showed negative associations with air pollutants. Conclusions: Injury is recognized as preventable, and effective strategies to create a safe society are important. Therefore, we need to establish strategies to prevent injury and consider air pollutants in this regard.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제29권4호
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• pp.146-150
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• 2016

Purpose: Traumatic aortic injuries are rare, but life threatening condition. They usually occur after high velocity impact on the chest or abdomen such as traffic accident or fall. We report the experiences of the traumatic aortic injuries at a single center. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of nine patients with aortic injury resulting from the blunt trauma from Jan. 2010 to May. 2016. Results: The mean age was $51.1{\pm}20.8$ years old, and ten (90.9%) were men. The mechanisms of injury were traffic accidents in seven patients (motorcycle accidents; 3, car accidents; 4), and four in fall injury. Most common injured sites were thoracic aorta (9, 81.8%). Aortic injuries were repaired by endovascular approach in four patients, and by open graft surgery in four. Two patients were managed conservatively. Nine patients survived without any complications. Conclusion: We had experienced different approaches for management of aortic injuries after blunt trauma according to locations and severity of lesions.