Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, Institute of Medicine
Washington, DC, USA: National Academies Press; 2001

This report from the Institute of Medicine focuses on closing the quality gap between what we know to be good health care and the health care that people actually receive. The report recommends a redesign of the American health care system by providing six "Aims for Improvement": Safety, Effectiveness, Patient-Centeredness, Timeliness, Efficiency, Equity. These principles set forth a specific direction for policymakers, health care leaders, clinicians, regulators, purchasers, and others to improve the US health care system.

Brainsky A, Glick H, Lydick E, et al. The economic cost of hip fractures in community dwelling older adults: A prospective study. Journal of the American Geriatric Society. 1997;45(3):281-287.

This article describes a study which attempted to evaluate the incremental cost in the year after hip fracture.

Englander F, Hodson TJ, Terregrossa RA. Economic dimensions of slip and fall injuries. Journal of Forensic Science. 1996;41(5):733-746.

This article provides an update of annual economic costs created by fall injuries.  The costs are also projected through the year 2020.

Cummings SR, Rubin SM, Black D. The future of hip fractures in the United States: Numbers, costs, and potential effects of postmenopausal estrogen. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. 1990;252:163-166.

This article cites that with the increasing number of elderly people in the United States, the total number of hip fractures in persons 50 years and older will rise from 238,000 to 512,000 by the year 2040, with a concomitant increase in avoidable deaths, disability, and medical costs.  The author contends that new strategies are needed to prevent fractures.

Sorock GS. Falls among the elderly: Epidemiology and prevention. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 1988;4(5):282-288.

This article contends that a majority of patient falls can be broken down into three preventable causes: reduced peripheral neurosensation, the use of psychoactive medication, and environmental hazards.

Rubenstein LZ, Robbins AS, Schulman BL, Rosado J, Osterweil D, Josephson KR. Falls and instability in the elderly. Journal of the American Geriatric Society. 1988;36(3):266-278.

This article describes a study which examined falls and instability in the elderly population.

Zuckerman JD. Hip fracture. New England Journal of Medicine. 1996;334(23):1519-1525.

This article studies hip fractures in the US.  The author contends that with an aging population the number of hip fractures will double by 2040.

Cooper C, Campion G, Melton LJ. Hip fractures in the elderly: A world-wide projection. Osteoporosis International. 1992;2(6):285-289.

This article describes a study which applied available incidence rates for hip fracture from various parts of the world to projected populations in 1990, 2025 and 2050 in order to estimate the numbers of hip fractures that might occur in each of the major continental regions.

Barancik JI, Chatterjee BF, Greene YC et al. Northeastern Ohio Trauma Study: I. Magnitude of the problem. American Journal of Public Health. 1983;73(7):746-751.

This article describes a study which measured the incidence of cause-specific trauma in the Cleveland and Lorain-Elyria (Ohio) Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs). The trauma incidence rate was 197 per 1,000, with falls accounting for the largest percentage of trauma.

Alexander BH, Rivara FP, Wolf ME. The cost and frequency of hospitalization for fall-related injuries in older adults. American Journal of Public Health 1992;82(7):1020-1023.

This article describes a study which reviewed the 1989 elderly hospitalizations in Washington State for fall-related injuries. The study concludes that fall-related trauma accounted for 5.3 percent of all hospitalizations of older adults, with hospital charges totaling more than $53.3 million.