Screening for Risk of Falls in the Elderly in a Community Health Fair Setting

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Risks that contribute to falls in the community dwelling elderly are well documented, as are the interventions to address these risk factors. There are, however, no well-established methods of identifying community dwelling elderly who are at risk for falls. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of screening for risk of falls in a community health fair setting. Methods: One hundred twenty three volunteers (mean age 73) attended fall risk assessment booths at 4 community health fairs. The assessment tools included the Functional Reach Test and gait speed measurement. Percent of persons at risk for falls were calculated by age for functional reach, for gait speed, and for a combination of both measures. Results: Fall risk was identified in 44% of participants with the Functional Reach Test and in 37% of participants with a timed gait velocity of less than 0.80 meters/second. Twenty percent of the participants demonstrated a risk for falls on both measures. Conclusion and Discussion: Screening for risk of falls in a community health setting is a feasible and practical way of identifying elderly at risk for falls.