Introduction: Falls and fear of falling are considered as the major factors affecting the elderlyÂ’s disabilities, so that most of these individuals often find their homes as a safe environment. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between home safety and prevalence of falls and fear of falling among older adults. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 450 elderly people who lived in Bojnrud, Northeast of Iran, from December 2016 to July 2017 using cluster sampling method. A demographic characteristics questionnaire, Fall Efficiency Scale-International (FES-I)questionnaire, and Home Safety Checklist were employed as research instruments. Results: Out of the study population, 157 individuals (35.7%) had a history of falls in the past one year. The mean score for fear of falling in the elderly people examined was 29.14±11.07 and the same value for home safety status was equal to 11.31±4.17. The mean score for fear of falling was significantly correlated with history of falls in older adults (p

Relationship Between Home Safety and Prevalence of Falls and Fear of Falling Among Elderly People: a Cross-sectional Study

Physical Health Status of the Elderly Living at Home in Tehran City, Iran

Introduction: Aging has a profound effect on all the body organs and quality of life. One of the appropriate interventions is exercises such as walking. Nevertheless, the risk of falling and its complications are lower in stationary walking than walking on ground. Due to the higher life expectancy in women than men, the increasing number of elderly, and the low quality of life of women compared to men, this study aimed to assess the impact of stationary walking on the quality of life of the elderly women. Methods: In this clinical trial, 66 household elderly women covered by health centers of Maragheh were randomly selected and divided into experimental and control groups. Six weeks exercise intervention was conducted. The participants completed the quality of life questionnaire of the elderly, before and after the intervention. SPSS software was used to analyze the data. Results: Mean scores of quality of life, in various aspects of the experimental group, before and after intervention, showed significant difference; there was no statistically significant difference in the control group. In addition, there was a significant difference in the mean and standard deviation of different aspects of quality of life in pre- and post-test of experiment and control groups.Conclusion: Using regular and constant exercise program such as stationary walking can increase the quality of life of the elderly women. It can improve healthy aging and having a healthy life at this age, too. Therefore, it is recommended to have stationary walking program in daily lives of the elderly.

https://journals.tbzmed.ac.ir/JCS/Manuscript/JCS-3-103.pdf

The Effect of Stationary Walking on the Quality of Life of the Elderly Women:A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background and Aims : Falls in the elderly has been known as a common and serious problem. Each year about one third of old adults experience a fall. The injuries resulted from fall results in hospitalization, prolong pain, decreased functional performance, disability, and death. The purpose of this study is to investigate the fall and some of its related individual factors among the elderly attending to health centers affiliated to the health network of Rey city. Materials and Methods : This cross-sectional study was conducted on 368 older adults aged 60 and over who referred to health centers. A “multi-stage” sampling method was considered. The data was collected using a questionnaire completed through interview. The questionnaire included demographic characteristics, number of falls during the past year and individual factors. The standard balance test was also conducted to assess the balance. The data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 16) through the related statistical tests. Correlations were considered significant at α = 0.05. All ethical issues were considered throughout the study. Results: About 62.8% out of the total study group were female and the remaining 37.2% were male with median age of 68.41 ± 6.6.  By the use of one-variable logistic regression test, it was found that age, gender, marital status, literacy status, postural hypotension, balance disorder, urine disorders, visual impairment, history of heart attack and sleep disorder all had significant relation with fall in the elderly (P < 0/05). Conclusions : The results of this research showed that one in every four elderly participated in health centers of the health network of Ray city has experienced a fall per year. Thus, in addition to proper assessment of the elderly at risk with individual and environmental factors, to prevent and decrease the rate of falling, they need to be educated. A safe environment should also be provided for them.

https://journals.sbmu.ac.ir/en-jhf/article/view/23244/16043

Study of fall and some of its related individual factors among the elderly attending to health centers affiliated to health network of Rey city in 2017

/pdf/prevalence-and-external-factors-of-home-falls-among-the-1u212byumu.pdf

Maede Torabi

Papers

The Prevalence and Correlates of Falling Down in the Older Adults Over 55 Years in Shiraz