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Researchers conducted a study to examine predictors of continued restraint use in nursing homes following efforts to reduce restraint. The study found that continued restraint occurred with severe cognitive impairment or when fall risk was considered by staff as a rationale for restraint. The staff at these nursing homes need to be better educated to reduce and eliminate physical restraint.

A recent history of falling may be the best predictor of nursing home residents who are at greatest risk of another fall. Researchers studied 18,855 residents of 272 nursing homes in Washington state. Twenty-nine percent fell down during the year studied. Residents who fell were more likely to have a falling history, a history of wandering, or use a walker or cane. Patients who could independently move and transfer to and from bed and chairs were more likely to fall, possibly because they had more opportunity.