Hip protectors

doi:10.1136/bmj.324.7351.1454/a

BMJ 2002;324:1454 ( 15 June )

Letters

Hip protectors

Carpets can be used to reduce injury from falls

Integrated approach to care of older people is necessary

Acceptability of hip protectors was 35% at six months in the community

Rate of adherence is 42% at three months in residential homes

Carpets can be used to reduce injury from falls

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR $---$ It takes about 40 years of wearing hip protectors to prevent one fracture, according to the editorial by Cameron,¹so other strategies may be helpful. Hip protectors look like institutionalunderwear $---$ white, plain, and unfashionable. Making them more attractivemight improve their acceptability. The alternative approach isto pad the floor. Carpet improves gait in older people² andin a small observational study dramatically reduced serious injuryfrom falls.³ Perhaps it's time for the Axminster trial of hipprotection.

Jed Rowe, consultant geriatrician.
Well Balanced Clinic, Moseley Hall Hospital, Birmingham B13 8JL jedrowe@geriatrickery.freeserve.co.uk

1.	Cameron ID. Hip protectors BMJ 2002; 324: 375-376[Free Full Text]. (16 February.)
2.	Wilmott M. The effect of a vinyl floor surface and a carpeted floor surface upon walking in elderly hospital in-patients. Age Ageing 1987; 16: 119-120[Abstract/Free Full Text].
3.	Healey F. Does flooring type affect risk of injury in older in-patients? Nursing Times 1994; 90: 40-41.

Integrated approach to care of older people is necessary

EDITOR $---$ We wish to raise the contentious issue of funding in the context of the management of falls in care homes. Criticalsuccess factors for the use of hip protectors are accurate fittingand compliance, as mentioned in the editorial by Cameron¹;these can be difficult in care homes now that the prevalence ofdementia is increasing. Furthermore, wearing hip protectors maybe a confounding factor in continence . . . [Full text of this article]