Footwear and hip fracture-related falls in older people

Objective: To describe features of footwear warn at the time of hip fractur e-related falls. Method: Subjects were 107 persons (mean age 77 years) admitted with a hip f racture-related fall to a hospital in the Illawarra region of New South Wal es, Australia, between February 1995 and February 1996. All subjects reside d in private homes or hostels at the time of their fall. An interviewer-adm inistered questionnaire was used to collect data from participants on foot problems, falls history, and age and use of footwear worn at the time of hi p fracture. A standardised approach was used to physically examine features of footwear worn at the time of fracture. Results: Most subjects wore slippers (33%) or were not wearing any footwear (24%) when they fell and fractured their hip. Among the 79 subjects in foo twear, most (70%) fell in footwear they wove every day and 43% of their foo twear was less then sir moths old. Participants chose to wear their footwea r for comfort, not safety. Conclusion: Enthusiasm for developing a 'safe shoe should be tempered somew hat by the fact that many people who suffer a hip fracture are not wearing shoes at the time they fall.