Outdoor pedestrian fall-related injuries among Swedish senior citizens - injuries and preventive
strategies
Sammanfattning
Senior citizens get around, to a large extent, as pedestrians, and safe walking is desirable for
senior citizens allowing them to stay mobile, independent and healthy in old age. Senior citizens are
over-represented in injury statistics, and fall-related injuries are common. The aim of this study was
to investigate fall-related injuries including healthcare costs among senior citizen pedestrians
injured when walking in public outdoor environments and to describe their self-reported causes and
suggested preventive strategies. The data were based on a combination of information from injury
data and a questionnaire. Three hundred senior citizens attended one emergency department after
sustaining injuries from pedestrian falls; 60% suffered nonminor injuries, mostly fractures. One-fifth
of the pedestrians were hospitalised for an average of 8 days with an indirect hospital cost of 6.2
million EUR (55 million SEK). Environmental factors such as ice were the most commonly described
cause of the injury incident. Forty per cent of the respondents indicated that the municipality was
responsible for the cause of the injury incident. Fewer respondents mentioned their own
responsibility as a preventive strategy. Thirty per cent described a combination of improvements
such as better road maintenance, changes in human behaviour and use of safety products as
preventive strategies. It is of great importance to highlight general safety, products and preventive
strategies to minimise injury risks, so that pedestrians can safely realise the known health benefits
of walking and thereby limit healthcare costs. Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons.