Abstract
As falls are among the most common causes of injury for the elderly, the prevention and early intervention are necessary. Fall assessment tools that include a variety of factors are recommended for preventing falls, but there is a lack of such tools. This study developed a multifactorial fall risk assessment tool based on current guidelines and validated it from the perspective of professionals. We followed the Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology’s guidelines in this systematic review. We used eight international and five Korean databases to search for appropriate guidelines. Based on the review results, we conducted the Delphi survey in three rounds; one open round and two scoring rounds. About nine experts in five professional areas participated in the Delphi study. We included nine guidelines. After conducting the Delphi study, the final version of the “Multifactorial Fall Risk Assessment tool for Community-Dwelling Older People” (MFA-C) has 36 items in six factors; general characteristics, behavior factors, disease history, medication history, physical function, and environmental factors. The validity of the MFA-C tool was largely supported by various academic fields. It is expected to be beneficial to the elderly in the community when it comes to tailored interventions to prevent falls.
Highlights
One-third of all people over 65 years of age experience at least one fall, and 15%fall at least twice in their lifetime. [1]
This is the first study to develop a fall risk assessment tool through the Delphi study in various fields based on systematic review results that include multiple fall risk factors in the guidelines published
Health care providers can use comprehensive falls risk screening tools to identify the elderly who are at risk of falling
Summary
One-third of all people over 65 years of age experience at least one fall, and 15%fall at least twice in their lifetime. [1]. One-third of all people over 65 years of age experience at least one fall, and 15%. Falls are among the most common causes of injury to the elderly, and they can lead to physical disability, including fractures that result in long-term disability, and reduced exercise capacity; they can even be fatal [2]. The mortality rate for fall-related injuries was. 61.6 per 100,000 United States residents aged ≥ 65 years in 2016 [3]. Falls associated with the elderly are related to the financial burden, for the suffering patients and the increased costs for elderly medical expenses in the health care system. In 2015, costs for falls to Medicare alone totaled over US$ 31 billion in the United States [4]. Mental, and economic conditions, prevention and early intervention are necessary
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