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Healthcare Services for Older People Who Have Fallen With Potential Head Injury

NCT07111871 · Status: RECRUITING · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 1000

Last updated 2025-12-23

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Every year, one in three older people (\>65 years old) experience a fall. Older people may have long-term health conditions and take medications that can increase their risk of bleeding (blood thinners). The UK national guidelines recommend that older people who are on blood thinning medications should have a CT head scan considered due to concerns of a brain bleed if they have hit their head after a fall. Many older people are therefore brought into hospital for assessment. However, the risk of bleeding in the brain is very low especially if older people do not have any symptoms such as loss of consciousness, weakness, headaches or vomiting. Some people could experience long waits in the emergency department or end up being admitted to hospital unnecessarily. This could worsen mobility, cause confusion, pressure sores or infections in older people.

More importantly, older people should have a comprehensive falls assessment to reduce their risk of future falls and have their medications reviewed after experiencing a fall. These assessments could potentially take place in their own homes if they prefer, rather than in hospital. Yet, current healthcare services outside the hospital setting may not be set up to manage an older person after fall.

Using an online survey, the investigators want to understand how current healthcare services in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight (HIOW) region work to look after older people who have had a fall. The study will focus particularly on older people taking blood thinning medications who may have a head injury but do not have any symptoms. The investigators will ask NHS workers what their role is, where they work and what they do when assessing an older person who has fallen if there is a concern about head injury. The survey will also ask participants to describe what challenges they may face, and if they have any suggestions to improve the care for older people.

This study will help the investigators understand what services are available in our current healthcare system for older people on blood thinning medications who have fallen and may have a head injury. The investigators hope that the results will help improve how healthcare services can work together with older people and their closed ones to provide care based on what matters most to them in their preferred place of care. This could reduce unnecessary use of emergency services and hospital admissions for older people.

Conditions

  • Older Adults (65 Years and Older)
  • Falls
  • Head Injury

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust

    lead OTHER_GOV

Principal Investigators

  • Qian Yue Tan, PhD BM · Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-09-11
Primary Completion
2025-12-23
Completion
2026-05-31

Countries

  • United Kingdom

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07111871 on ClinicalTrials.gov