Study links CNA staffing levels to fall rates for nursing home residents

Unfamiliar surroundings and staff are two conditions that can contribute to a new nursing home resident’s risk for falls. An analysis of MDS assessments for more than 230,000 newly admitted short-stay residents determined that 21 percent experienced at least one fall in a 30-day period.

Researchers from Brown University and the University of Southern California determined that facilities with higher CNA levels of staffing contributed to a lowered risk for falls. The researchers, however, indicate that to maximize fall prevention efforts in this area, more study is needed.

The study appears in the May issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.