Falls of geriatric mental patients in hospitals Section: LEARNING TO TEACH How to quote Barrera Mena Y, Reyes Pérez AR, Mena Moreno M, Veránez Avalos C, Antón del Toro T. Caídas de enfermos mentales en hospitales geriátricos. Rev. Educare21 2013; 11(1). [En línea] [fecha de acceso: 1 de enero de 2013]. URL disponible en: http://www.enfermeria21.com/publicaciones/educare/ Authors1Yoydanka Barrera Mena, 2Ana Rosa Reyes Pérez, 2Maira Mena Moreno, 2Clara Veranes Avalos, 2Teresa Antón del Toro Position 1Vice-Directora de Enfermería. Centro de Atención a Enfermos Mentales“El Viso”, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.2Enfermeras. Contact email: albert@bioeco.ciges.inf.cu Abstract A fall in an elder is not unpredictable or inevitable due to chance or normal aging of the person. In most cases it is a mismatch between the elderly and the environment of a multifactorial origin.A descriptive study was performed in order to identify the most common causes which influence falls in the elderly in a care center for mentally ill chronic patients in the period from November 2011 to March 2012. The sample consisted of 60 elderly people, representing all institutionalized patients with high-risk condition.To collect the data we performed an exhaustive review of the medical records and prepared a spreadsheet which analyzed the variables of interest given by: age, sex, condition of chronic diseases, medication intake and environmental risk factors. Percentage is used as a summary measure for the significance of the variables.The study revealed that disease situations, drug associations, unstable environments and institutionalization are incidental risk factors for falls. Keywords: elderly; falls; institutionalizedmentally Ill Versión en Español Título: Caídas de enfermos mentales en hospitales geriátricos