Falls and balance issues in long-term care

Falling is a major cause of concern in long-term care facilities. The asses sment of risk factors can help the clinician determine the future potential for falling in long-term care residents. Risk factors for falling are iden tified, methods that can be used to assess balance are discussed, and physi cal and environmental changes that can decrease the risk of falls are ident ified. Preventing falls can not be assigned to one discipline in long-term care. Prevention of falls is a health care team issue and must be addressed in a multidisciplinary fashion to be effective in long-term care settings.