Barriers to and promoters of screening for falls in elderly community-dwelling patients by general practitioners: a large cross-sectional survey in two areas of France

•We conduct a cross-sectional study in two areas in the South-east of France.•28.8% of GPs implemented annual screening for falls each year, 9.3% every 2–5 years.•Patient selecting is the main barrier to achieve annual screening for falls.

The objective was to determine the factors affecting French GPs' implementation of annual screening for falls among patients of 75 years old and over. We conduct a cross-sectional study in two areas in the South-east of France (Savoie and Isère). An anonymized survey was sent by e-mail and/or post in May 2008 to all GPs with a large practice. Reminder letters were sent to GPs who hadn't answered between June and July 2008. Potentials barriers were measured by dichotomous scale. On GPs characteristics (socio-demographic, knowledge, attitude and practice), a multiple logistic regression was performed to identify others factors affecting falls screening. 493 questionnaires were analyzed (26.8%). 65.3% of respondents considered annual screening for falls to be useful, though only 28.8% of them implemented it each year and 9.3% every two to five years. Barriers to achieving annual screening included patient selecting (56.3%), forgetting to screen (26.6%), unsuitable working conditions (18.5%), lack of time (13.3%), of knowledge (13.3%), or of financial compensation (11.1%). Perception of the usefulness of annual screening for falls (OR = 5.38 (2.07–14.08); p = 0.001), satisfaction with medical care for falls (OR = 1.34 (1.09–1.65); p = 0.006) and increased consultation time (OR = 2.65 (1.37–5.13); p = 0.004), were found to have a significant impact on the implementation of annual screening for falls. Asking your patient each year if s/he has had any falls, inquiring about gait and balance disturbance is not time consuming. Finally, to improve a health-related quality of life, GPs should consider fall assessment as a fundamental feature of medical care.