Abstract
Falls of the elderly constitute a serious health problem due not only to physical injuries, but also to psychological trauma.
Objective – to assess the frequency of their falls, and to establish the relationship between falls and the patient's diagnosis, pharmacotherapy applied, and the workload of the staff on the ward. \
Subjects and method – hospital records of the 909 inpatients of a psychogeriatric ward was analysed.
Results – the frequency of falls observed was lower than that reported in the literature. It was slightly higher in women than in men, with the highest frequency of falls in patients with vascular dementia. No relationship was found between the number of patients on the ward and the frequency of falls.