The Impact of Falls in an Inner‐City Elderly African‐American Population

Abstract

A large proportion of elderly African-American persons treated at emergency departments for falls experience continued pain and restriction of activities after the fall. Many individuals have not recovered 7 months or longer after the fall and few persons report that a physician or other health professional has been particularly helpful since the fall occurred. We suggest that follow-up programs be developed for elderly persons in minority communities who come to emergency departments after a fall.