Practices of caregivers when evaluating the risk of falls in the admission of older adults to nursing homes

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Falls are a complex problem for the older population residing in nursing homes. Despite recommendations, many difficulties remain in the evaluation of and systematic information on fall risk factors. Objectives: To build and validate the Scale for Practices of Identification of and Information on Fall Risk Factors in the Admission of Older Adults; to describe the practices of professionals in identifying and providing information on fall risk factors in the admission of older adults; and to associate these practices with the training, experience, and age of the caretakers. Methods: This is a methodological study. Based on a literature review, we analyzed the contexts, consulted specialists, selected indicators, and designed the scale, which was evaluated by experts. The process included a pre-test, reformulation, application, and validation. Results: The response rate was 65.52%. The validated scale has 13 items and 2 dimensions: risk factor evaluation practices and information practices; it presents good psychometric properties (α=0.913) to evaluate the risk of falls in the admission of older adults. Conclusions: Caregivers who received training during professional activities had better practices as to the provision of information to older adults about the risk of falls. The risk associated with gait and balance changes is more significant compared to the cognitive state.