The Impact of Covid on Elderly Falls Living in the Community (original) (raw)
Related papers
Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management
Background: Every year millions of older people experience a fall. There are many reasons associated as to why a fall occurs in elderly: musculoskeletal weakness, balance issues etc. A fall can lead to a serious injury or mortality depending on the type and impact of the fall. As the environment for the elderly was restricted to their homes during the Covid-19 pandemic, this study aimed at assessing the characteristics of falls during the pandemic. Materials and methods: 60 elderly individuals aging 60 years and above participated in the study. This included 36.7% males and 63.3% females. A pre-validated questionnaire was used to assess the characteristics of falls. Result: Fear of fall was not experienced or was same as before the lockdown however the fall percentage decreased by 7% during the lockdown. Conclusion: Falls among the elderly decreased during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.
Innovation in Aging, 2022
Background and Objectives: Examining the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on fall risks may provide insight into how multilevel factors as described in National Institute of Nursing Research's (NINR's) draft strategic plan can guide future fall prevention research. This article describes the affect of COVID-19 on fall risks from the perspective of older adults who live in assisted living facilities (ALFs), and explores the needs and approaches to implement fall prevention interventions at individual, social, community, and policy levels. Research Design and Methods: Exploratory survey study. Participants from a fall prevention study at 2 ALFs in Oregon were invited to the study. Survey questions asked about COVID experience, and changes in fall risks and day-today activities in Spring 2020. Quantitative responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Cohen's d effect sizes. Qualitative responses were analyzed using conventional content analysis. Results: Thirteen participants (age: M = 87.08, standard deviation = 6.52) responded. More participants reported feeling unsteady compared to pre-COVID data (38% vs. 62%), while the proportion of those worried about falling remained the same at 38%. Participants reported negligible decreases in importance of fall prevention and small decreases in confidence of fall prevention (Cohen's d = −0.13 and −0.21, respectively). The themes related to the affect of COVID on fall risks were: not to worry about fall risks but be cautious and physical activity is important, but it's hard during COVID. Impact of COVID on day-today activities were: varying degrees of concern for COVID, lack of social and community support, and finding unique ways to cope with COVID. Discussion and Implications: These individual-level perspectives suggest that older adults were at increased risk for falling. Results exemplify the influence of broader-level factors (e.g., social, community, and policy) on individual biobehavioral factors (e.g., fall risks and health behaviors), and illustrate the value of examining multilevel factors in future fall prevention research. Translational Significance: Coronavirus disease 2019 lockdown measures were necessary for protecting individuals from the fatal infection. However, these restrictions had affect on other aspects of people's health. Our study explored experiences of older adults in assisted living facilities during the pandemic and showed how the lockdown affected their daily life and fall risks on the multiple levels. Findings urge the researchers to expand fall prevention interventions from solely focusing on individual level to multilevel strategies including socioecological perspectives. A few examples include facilitating social connections to encourage fall prevention actions, and integrating and normalizing fall prevention strategies into existing community programs and activities.
EVALUATION OF FUNCTIONALITY AND PREVALENCE OF FALLS IN OLDER ADULTS DURING SOCIAL ISOLATION (Atena Editora), 2024
Falls in older adults are an important factor in the loss of independence and quality of life of the older population and are related to a high rate of disability and mortality. The present study aimed to evaluate the functionality and prevalence of falls in older adults during social isolation. We used a convenience sample and due to the context of the coronavirus pandemic, this study was developed through WhatsApp social media, which allows for 250 members per group. Up to 25% of respondents are considered positive in online surveys. The total survey sample had 82 respondents, corresponding to a response rate of 32.8%, considered excellent for digital research. Elderly people were invited to participate in a WhatsApp group whose main purpose is to disseminate messages of interest to this population. The Katz Scale (1963) and a questionnaire to evaluate the health of older adults and falls were used as a research instrument, consisting of 2 parts: socio-demographic data and questions that evaluated falls in older people. The questionnaire was based on studies by Radaelli et al. (2015), and Smith et al. (2017). All data obtained were entered and tabulated in the Excel software and presented using absolute and relative frequency distribution tables. The largest participation was women 75.61%, age group 70 to 79 years 78.05%, only 10.98% were not literate and 32.93% had up to 4 years of study. According to income, the majority were retired (65.85%), 56.10% were married, 82.93% took some medication, and 16.18% took more than 7 medications. Regarding hypertension and diabetes, 62.20% and 29.27% of participants said yes. Difficulties in seeing and hearing were reported by 47.56% and 26.83%. Limitation in walking or climbing stairs was reported by 37.80% of participants, and regarding falls, 57.32% suffered falls and 40.24% had suffered a fracture. 46.34% of these participants practice physical activity. There was no significant increase in the incidence of falls among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, even though they have been spending more time at home. This reflects a firm support network and closer and more intense care for the elderly during this period.
RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE OCCURRENCE OF FALLS IN THE LIFE CONTEXT OF THE ELDERLY (Atena Editora), 2022
A fall is an unintentional displacement of the body, with common occurrences in the elderly, constituting the third cause of death in individuals aged sixty or more. Incidences of falls are indicative of underlying problems, requiring attention from health professionals and family members. It is postulated, then, to identify the risk factors associated with the occurrence of falls in the context of the lives of the elderly, based on an integrative literature review. The following inclusion criteria were adopted: articles published from 2010 to 2020, in Portuguese, English and Spanish, which included in their titles and/or abstract aspects related to the proposed theme, as well as made available in full, free of charge and online. In this sense, factors may be associated with falls in the elderly: the use of assistive devices, environmental risks, health conditions such as rheumatism, muscle weakness, vertigo, impaired gait and balance, visual and auditory disorders, cognitive and sensory impairments. , orthostatic hypotension, diabetes mellitus, common mental disorder, osteoporosis, asthma, bronchitis, dizziness, insomnia and emphysema. It is concluded that falls are recurrent in the female elderly population and cause dysfunctions, limitations in daily activities, fear of falling, reduced functional mobility and injuries. Therefore, risk factors for falls in the elderly are associated with quality of life and efforts must be made to reduce their incidence, such as identifying factors contributing to falls and raising awareness about the subject and its consequences for the health of the elderly.
2015
Falls are the most prevalent and serious accident older people suffer in their homes and also, they are the main reason for their hospital admission. In a great part of the cases falls expose at risk elderly people’s well-being and quality of life. A critical narrative literature review was undertaken to inform research in the area of falls in older people living in the community. Articles were retrieved from Medline and Scopus data bases from November 2011 to January 2013. Citation searching was also used as a complement by hand searching of relevant journals. Additionally, an alert mechanism was established in Scopus for a period of one year to identify relevant studies or literature. Reviewed studies have provided valuable evidence about falls in older people and potential prevention strategies. However, evidence from relatives, caregivers and significant others is conspicuously absent. Falls in the community and falls prevention happen in social and family contexts that must be ...
Relationship between fall risks and activities of daily living in older individuals
Frontiers of Nursing, 2020
Objective To investigate the relationship between fall risks and maintaining activities of daily living in individuals aged 65 and over. Methods This study is cross-sectional. It was conducted with 233 individuals who were aged 65 and over in Family Health Centers located in the eastern part of Turkey between February and June 2018. Results The mean older individuals’ DENN Fall Risks Assessment Scale score was 11.73 ± 7.13, and 62.2% of the participants were in the high-risk group. Barthel Index of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) mean score was 68.03 ± 25.36, and 45.1% of the participants were in the moderately dependent group. There was a statistically significant, negative correlationship between Barthel Index of ADL score and age and DENN Fall Risks Assessment Scale score. In addition, there was a statistically significant, positive relationship between the DENN Fall Risks Assessment Scale score and age (p < 0.01). Conclusions This study found that level of dependency and fal...
Prevalence of falls and associated factors in elderly individuals
Revista De Saude Publica, 2012
Cross-sectional study with 420 elderly subjects (aged 60 years or older) living in the city of Juiz de Fora (Southeastern Brazil) in 2010. A household survey was conducted and the occurrence of falls in the 12 previous months was described. For the analysis of factors associated with the outcome, a theoretical determination model with three hierarchical blocks was built. The variables were adjusted among each other within each block; those with level of signifi cance ≤ 0.20 were included in the Poisson regression model and adjusted to the immediately higher level, with 5% signifi cance level. RESULTS: The prevalence of falls among the elderly was 32.1% (95%CI: 27.7; 36.9). Among those who experienced falls, 53% had a single fall and 19% had fractures as a consequence. Most of the falls (59%) occurred at the elderly person's home. The occurrence of falls was associated with old age, female sex, need of help for locomotion and self-reported diagnosis of osteoporosis. CONCLUSIONS: Falls are frequent among the elderly. Knowledge of the factors associated with the occurrence of this event can aid the development of prevention strategies and adequate health services.