Fall Risk Awareness and Safety Precautions Taken by Older Community-Dwelling Women and Men—A Qualitative Study Using Focus Group Discussions

Abstract

IntroductionDaily life requires frequent estimations of the risk of falling and the ability to avoid a fall. The objective of this study was to explore older women’s and men’s understanding of fall risk and their experiences with safety precautions taken to prevent falls.MethodsA qualitative study with focus group discussions was conducted. Eighteen community-dwelling people [10 women and 8 men] with and without a history of falls were purposively recruited. Participants were divided into two groups, and each group met four times. A participatory and appreciative action and reflection approach was used to guide the discussions. All discussions were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed by qualitative content analysis, and categories were determined inductively.FindingsThree categories describing the process of becoming aware of fall risks in everyday life were identified: 1] Facing various feelings, 2] Recognizing one’s fall risk, and 3] Taking precautions. Each category comprised several subcategories. The comprehensive theme derived from the categories was “Safety precautions through fall risk awareness”. Three strategies of ignoring [continuing a risky activity], gaining insight [realizing the danger in a certain situation], and anticipating [thinking ahead and acting in advance] were related to all choices of actions and could fluctuate in the same person in different contexts.ConclusionsThe fall risk awareness process might be initiated for various reasons and can involve different feelings and precautions as well as different strategies. This finding highlights that there are many possible channels to reach older people with information about fall risk and fall prevention, including the media and their peers. The findings offer a deeper understanding of older peoples’ conceptualizations about fall risk awareness and make an important contribution to the development and implementation of fall prevention programmes.

Fear of falling in older adults living at home: associated factors

“…Older adult women were more likely to fall than older adult men (19) . The fear of falling among older adult women was associated with reduced physical activity (19) ; obesity (20)(21) ; impairment of activities of daily living (ADLs) (19) ; social isolation (4) ; higher depressive symptoms (20,22) ; higher probability of future falls (23) . The fear of falling among older adult women is influenced by a number of factors peculiar to gender, such as a higher prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and musculoskeletal frailty (23) ; low bone density after menopause and greater and more rapid loss of muscle mass, due to the hormonal decrease (24) .…”

Percepção sobre queda e exposição de idosos a fatores de risco domiciliares

“…We understand that this type of education for older people is aimed at broadening their awareness of this issue so that they can take actions through looking after themselves. As was frequently observed, older people with greater awareness of the issue opted to modify their dwellings to reduce domestic 17 risks. Many of these modifications were easily identifiable and remediable.…”

“…It was also observed that only the variable of "age" was a sociodemographic determinant for the presence of household risk factors. This suggested that amongst those that are older, the preventative habits are established based on prior experiences of falls 17 . Considering that individuals with a greater understanding of these issues presented a lower presence of household risk factors, this fact infers that the actual situation can be changed with the implementation of reading strategies on health and healthy life style habits that are universally objective when dealing with the prevention of falls 8,18 .…”

“…However, the values found in the international specialist journals are also considered insufficient, showing that older people in general have little information in relation to the issue. This means that the population is not given guidance on the process of aging and the inherent greater risks of falling which occur when the risks are underestimated or certain preventative activities are not taken 17,22 .…”

Fall behaviors and risk factors among elderly patients with hip fractures

“…(3,4) Various studies have reported that the precautions the elderly took to prevent falls included asking for assistance when inserting light bulbs, avoiding risky behaviors, moving slowly and using equipment to support their walking. (13)(14)(15) Stevens, Noonan and Rubenstein (2010) recommended that fall prevention programs be evaluated in order to improve fall prevention behaviors among the elderly. (16) The most frequently displayed fall prevention behavior among the elderly are exercise, vitamin D supplementation, environmental modification, education, and multi-factorial programs.…”