Falls in Elderly: Study of the Prevalence and Associated Factors

Abstract

Institutionalized elderly presents a higher risk of falling than those who are not. The issue of falls among elderly people should be considered as a serious public health problem because of its consequences and permanent costs. Objective: This study will intend to assess the risks and the determinative factors of falls among institutionalized elderly. Methods: A non-experimental, cross-sectional, descriptive- correlational and quantitative study. We used a non-probability convenience sampling composed of 136 elderly people who were institutionalized at the time. They were between 65 and 99 years old, with an 85,98 years old average age. To collect the data, we used a protocol formed by questions about these people’s socio-demographic, contextual and clinical characterization. We also used the Family Functionality Scale, the Self-care Dependency Evaluation Scale and the Tinetti Scale (POMA I). Results: Most of the people from our sample show a high risk of suffering from falls: we have concluded that about 45.6% of elderly people present a high risk of falling, 16.5 % a medium risk and 38.2% a low risk of suffering from this kind of accident. We also observed that the risk of falling was higher among elderly who showed the following characteristics: in females (p=0,014), in those who show a poor literacy (p=0,000), in those who exhibit any kind of cognitive impairment (p=0,014), in people who suffer from neurological and osteoarticular diseases (p=0,000) and in elderly who suffer from loss of visual and hearing acuity (p=0,010). By contrast, the elderly who experience a better autonomy as far as their walking capacity, personal hygiene and medication are concerned are those who show a lower risk of fall accidents. Conclusions: Falls in institutionalized elderly are becoming a serious problem in the elderly, requiring health professionals to effectively intervene in their prevention.