[Synthesis in French of the 2022 global recommendations for the management and prevention of falls in the elderly]

Abstract

Background: Falls and fall-related injuries are common in older adults, have negative effects on functional independence and quality of life and are associated with increased morbidity, mortality and health related costs.

Objective: To synthesize evidence-based and expert consensus-based 2022 world guidelines for the management and prevention of falls in older adults. These recommendations consider a person-centred approach that includes the preferences of the patient, caregivers and other stakeholders, gaps in previous guidelines, recent developments in e-health and both local context and resources.

Recommendations: All older adults should be advised on falls prevention and physical activity. Opportunistic case finding for falls risk is recommended for communitydwelling older adults. An algorithm is proposed to stratify falls risk and interventions for persons at low, moderate or high risk. Those considered at high risk should be offered a comprehensive multifactorial falls risk assessment with a view to co-design and implement personalised multidomain interventions. Other recommendations cover details of assessment and intervention components and combinations, and recommendations for specific settings and populations.

Conclusions: The core set of recommendations provided will require flexible implementation strategies that consider both local context and resources.

Keywords: Fall; ageing; clinical practice; consensus; elder people; injury; recommendation.