A theoretical framework to improve adherence among older adults to recommendations received at a falls prevention clinic: A narrative review

Abstract

BackgroundFalls impose a prominent public health problem among older adults. Falls are preventable through multi-factorial interventions offered by a Falls Prevention Clinic. Yet, adherence to recommendations is often average or low, particularly for lifestyle recommendations. To achieve full health benefits from such a multifactorial intervention, improving adherence is critical. PurposeOur primary objective was to conduct a narrative review to develop a theoretical framework, categorized by intrinsic and extrinsic factors that impact adherence to falls prevention interventions, considering a Falls Prevention Clinic setting. Materials and methodsWe conducted a comprehensive literature review of all peer-reviewed manuscripts published between 1998 through August 2020 among older adults (i.e., aged 60 years and older) who fall. We used the following search engines: Pubmed, CINAHL, Embase, MedLine, Cochrane and Google Scholar. ResultsThe theoretical framework categorizes two dominate factors (comprised of specific domains) that affect adherence among older adults who fall. Intrinsic factors comprised of three domains included: demographics (age, gender, ethnicity), individual factors (participation, control, behavioural habits) and health factors (physical health, mental state, perceived severity). Extrinsic factors comprised of four domains included: caregiver factors (family dynamics, miscarried helping) medication factors (availability, accessibility, drug handling, reliability), health system (costs, communication, relationship with doctors, attention) and environmental factors (public health policy interventions). Intrinsic factors such as high socioeconomic status, high health literacy, being married and extrinsic factors such as low healthcare cost, better communication and useful policy interventions were associated with greater adherence. ConclusionThis theoretical model elucidates priority factors to target for promoting adherence to reduce falls, decrease mortality and, lower fall-related healthcare costs.