New research finds aged-care facilities often have lower than recommended lighting levels, which contributes to higher rates of falls.

“It's something that people have probably known or been aware of forever, that light's important, but very little research has been done on it,” says Professor of Gerontology Ngaire Kerse at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland.

With an ageing population, reducing falls is an important area for research, so older people can live safe and autonomous lives, says Dr Catherine Bacon, senior lecturer in the School of Nursing.

“Falls are a serious concern for older people and the consequences can be severe,” Bacon says.

The study used industry standards to assess the levels of lighting in different areas of 12 long-term residential care homes in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. See Journal of Applied Gerontology.

The researchers found many areas of care facilities, particularly bedrooms and bathrooms, were below recommended limits.

Almost two-thirds (57.7 percent) of bedrooms were below industry-recommended daytime lighting levels.

Over a period of two years, recent doctoral graduate Yasaman Emad and masters student Sonia Neef gathered data on the areas visited by each of the 126 participating residents and how often they visited.

Neef says the sample size was too small to draw specific conclusions about fall location, but the overall level of lighting in a facility was associated with an individual’s risk of falling.

In the same period, 70 percent of participants fell a total of 823 times, between one and 225 times each.

Over half of falls (57.4 percent) occurred in bedrooms, 11.4 percent in bathrooms, 4.4 percent in dining rooms, 9.6 percent in lounges, 9.1 percent in hallways and the remainder elsewhere.

In arriving at conclusions, the researchers factored in the residents’ gender, physical and cognitive abilities.

Lower lighting levels in bathrooms, dining rooms and in facilities overall predicted higher fall rates.

The researchers say better lighting in care centres could reduce falls and need not be expensive.

“We know a lot of rest homes are experiencing financial challenges, but another recent study out of the US (Zimmerman et al, 2024) suggests it may not be necessary to improve the intensity of lighting per se,” says Bacon.

“The study shows even inexpensive strips of LED (light-emitting diodes) around doors can reduce falls in people with dementia.”

Another recommendation was for education on the need for facilities to install bright lights and to turn lights on when residents are moving around, especially in bedrooms and bathrooms.

Another recent study showed upgrading lighting in two New England care homes reduced fall rate by almost half (43 percent) compared with two control facilities (Grant et al, 2022).

The University of Auckland study concludes that lighting is an important consideration when creating an environment that encourages mobility and independence while establishing a safe environment.

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