Falls are an important health concern among older adults due to age-related changes in the body. Having a medical history of chronic health condition may pose even higher risk of falling. Only few studies have assessed a number of chronic health conditions as risk factor for falls over a large nationally representative sample of US older adults. In this study, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2014 participants aged 65 years and older (n = 159,336) were evaluated. It was found that 29.7% (n = 44,550) of the sample experienced at least one fall and 16.3% (n = 20,444) experienced more than one fall in the past 12 months. According to the study findings, having a medical history of stroke, CKD, arthritis, depression, and diabetes independently predict the risk of first-time falling as well as the risk of recurrent falling in older adult population while controlling for other factors. On the other hand, having a medical history of the heart attack, angina, asthma, and COPD did not predict the risk of first-time falling, but did predict the risk of recurrent falling after experiencing the first fall in this population.

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As the number of available over-the-counter (OTC) products increases, many older adults are taking health care into their own hands. It is particularly important that the labeling provided with these products is precise, leading to their effective use, especially by older adults. Suboptimally designed medication labels can increase the risk of consumption errors and adverse drug interactions among seniors. This study evaluated whether the warning labels on potentially inappropriate OTC medications are consistent with evidencebased criteria for potentially inappropriate prescribing in older adults. Future action could be taken by the Food and Drug Administration to improve labeling policies.

Objectives: To determine factors associated with having one or more prescription drug fills (PDFs) in members of qualified health plans (QHPs). MethOds: This study used a large nationally representative administrative claims database supplemented with socioeconomic and community resource data. The sample consisted of 1,823,677 members of QHPs who were enrolled for ≥ 10 months in 2014. Logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with having PDFs. Results: A total of 1,230,981 (67.5%) members had ≥ 1 PDF during the study period. Living in a neighborhood with higher education levels (i.e., percent population with at least bachelor's degree) was associated with higher likelihood of having PDFs (OR: 1.04-1.12; reference: 0-12%). Lower median household income was associated with lower likelihood of having PDFs (OR: 0.73-0.90; reference $100,000+). Members from neighborhoods with a higher proportion of non-white race/ethnicities were less likely to have PDFs (non-Hispanic black, OR= 0.80; Hispanic, OR= 0.95; Asian, OR= 0.58). Compared to Silver plan members, members of Gold plans were more likely to have PDFs (OR= 1.07); but members of Platinum, Bronze, and Catastrophic plans were less likely to have PDFs (OR: 0.95, 0.65 and 0.83, respectively). Individual plan enrollment was associated with higher likelihood of having PDFs (OR= 1.10), while on-exchange plan enrollment was associated with lower likelihood (OR= 0.87). Other factors associated with lower likelihood of having PDFs were being male (OR= 0.62); younger age (OR: 0.55-0.71; reference: 31-65); and living in a non-metropolitan area (OR: 0.89-0.95). cOnclusiOns: This study provides evidence that the likelihood of having PDFs varies across member and plan characteristics, even after controlling for patient severity. Assuring appropriate treatment and adherence to medications for chronic conditions is inherent to achieving good health outcomes, thus it is important that QHPs identify and understand factors associated with lower likelihood of filling prescriptions in order to develop targeted interventions to achieve the most optimal outcomes in their members.

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