In this study one-quarter of all falls incidents resulted in
a GP visit and, for 5% of falls incidents, hospitalization. his
is consistent with previous estimates indicating that approximately 20% of all fall incidents require medical attention [15].
Approximately 15% of all participants reported accessing a
GP because of a fall incident in this study but this is sign
scantly higher than recent estimates from the Belgian older
adult population indicating that approximately 2.5% of non-
institutionalized general practice patients received GP care
for fall-related injuries [16]. he difference is likely attributable to our recruitment of older women identified as having increased risk of falls or fractures who would therefore be more likely to access health care for fall-related injuries than the general older adult population. Conversely, only 8%
of our participants reported being hospitalized due to a fall,
compared to 31% in the previous study. his may be explained
by the similar differences in falls-related fractures; 9% of
participants in our study, compared to 32% of participants
in the Belgian study [16], sustained a fracture. he higher
fracture and hospitalisation rates the previous study are
probably reflective of the fact that the study populations were
older adults accessing GP care, indicating that the fall-related
injuries captured were in the most severe range (e.g., fracture)
and more likely to result in hospitalisation.