Awareness About Fall Risk and Measures of Fall Prevention Among Older Adults in Buraidah, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Background Falls, particularly common among the elderly, pose significant health risks and mortality rates worldwide. Factors such as decline related to old age, gender, medical conditions, and environmental hazards contribute to falls. Prevention strategies focus on environmental modifications, exercise programs, medication reviews, and vitamin D supplementation to reduce fall risks and improve outcomes. This study aims to investigate the awareness of fall risk and measures of fall prevention among older adults in Buraidah, Qassim, Saudi Arabia, and examines the relationship between the level of awareness and various sociodemographic factors. Methodology This cross-sectional study was conducted among elderly patients at primary healthcare centers in Buraidah, Qassim province, Saudi Arabia. Data were collected via an interviewer-administered questionnaire assessing awareness and prevention of falls. Data were cleaned in Excel (Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA, USA) and analyzed using SPSS version 29 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). A linear regression model was used to determine the association. Statistical significance was established at a p-value of 0.05 or lower. Results Our study included 280 elderly participants, of whom 58.2% were female. The mean age was 63.7 years (SD = 4.9), and 34.6% had a bachelor's degree. Regarding fall awareness, 81.4% acknowledged preventability. Notable preventive measures included medication reviews (64.6%), eye examinations (85.7%), physical activity (82.2%), vitamin D supplementation (76.8%), and home safety devices (97.5%). Regarding fall prevention, 61.8% underwent medical examinations annually, and 65.4% had vision checkups. Higher awareness about fall risks was associated with female gender (β = 1.394, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.199 to 2.589, p = 0.022), higher education (β = 0.931, 95% CI = 0.549 to 1.314, p < 0.001), and chronic diseases (β = -1.935, 95% CI = -3.313 to -0.556, p = 0.006). Conclusions Our study demonstrates significant awareness among elderly participants regarding fall preventability and measures. Females and those with higher education levels had higher levels of awareness. These findings highlight the importance of targeted interventions to increase awareness and preventive measures among elderly populations.