The need for a falls prevention programme for patients undergoing hip and knee replacement surgery Sheryl Mitchell BSc (Research Nurse) a, * , Andrew McCaskie FRCS (Professor of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery) a , Roger Francis FRCP (Professor of Geriatric Medicine) a , Robert Peaston PhD (Biochemist) a , Fraser Birrell MRCP (Senior Lecturer in Rheumatology) b , Elizabeth Lingard MPH (Research Coordinator) a a Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom b Wansbeck General Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom Summary Falls are a major concern in the elderly consuming considerable health- care resources. This study evaluates the incidence of falls in patients suffering osteoarthritis (OA) and their impact on health status. 199 patients awaiting primary hip or knee replacement surgery for OA were recruited (84 hips, 115 knees). Patients completed a questionnaire including the Western Ontario and McMaster University OA Index (WOMAC), Short Form 36 (SF-36), and history of falls. Function was mea- sured using the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. Seventy-ﬁve patients (39%) reported falling within a 4-week period with 50 (25%) having fallen more than once. Fallers had signiﬁcantly lower WOMAC pain and function scores, slower TUG, and worse SF-36 scores excluding social functioning and mental health. This study demonstrates that patients with hip or knee OA frequently fall. Consid- ering the increasing numbers of patients undergoing total knee and hip replacement for OA, and the catastrophic consequences of peri-prosthetic fractures, the need to incorporate a falls prevention programme within arthroplasty management requires evaluation.  c 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KEYWORDS Falls; Osteoarthritis; Hip replacement; Knee replacement www.elsevierhealth.com/journals/joon Journal of Orthopaedic Nursing 1361-3111/$ - see front matter  c 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.joon.2007.02.011 * Corresponding author. Present address: Room 22a, Level 1, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Newcastle upon Tyne NE7 7DN, United Kingdom. Tel.: +44 191 2231514. E-mail address: Sheryl.Mitchell@nuth.northy.nhs.uk (S. Mitchell). Journal of Orthopaedic Nursing (2007) 11, 98–103