Falls efficacy: Extending the understanding of self-efficacy in older adults towards managing falls

Shawn Leng-Hsien Soh - ORCID: 0000-0002-8725-5182 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8725-5182Janet Thomas - ORCID: 0000-0002-1037-7923 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1037-7923Judith Lane - ORCID: 0000-0003-0413-8421 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0413-8421Publisher's accepted article replaced by VoR 2021-09-02Falls efficacy is a widely studied construct. The understanding of falls efficacy has evolved over time. Falls efficacy was initially perceived to be suitably used as a measure of fear of falling. However, further research suggested that falls efficacy and fear of falling are distinct constructs, and therefore, would be inappropriate to be used as a proxy. Instead, some researchers posited that falls efficacy is synonymous with balance confidence. Falls efficacy has been conventionally understood as the perceived ability of individuals to perform activities without losing balance or falling. A recently conducted systematic review by the authors on existing falls efficacy related measures had revealed a fresh perspective of recognising falls efficacy as a perceived ability to manage a threat of a fall. Falls efficacy, with a broadened interpreted construct, relates to the individual’s perceived self-efficacy of performing necessary actions needed in different scenarios, including pre-fall, near-fall, fall-landing and completed fall. The conventional interpretation of falls efficacy needs a rethinking of perspective. An extended understanding of falls efficacy would provide an integral approach towards improving the agency of individual to deal with falls and would enhance person-centred care.https://doi.org/10.22540/JFSF-06-1316pubpub

Falls efficacy instruments for community-dwelling older adults: A COSMIN-based systematic review

From Springer Nature via Jisc Publications RouterBackground: Falls efficacy is a widely-studied latent construct in community-dwelling older adults. Various self-reported instruments have been used to measure falls efficacy. In order to be informed of the choice of the best measurement instrument for a specific purpose, empirical evidence of the development and measurement properties of falls efficacy related instruments is needed. Methods: The Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Intruments (COSMIN) checklist was used to summarise evidence on the development, content validity, and structural validity of instruments measuring falls efficacy in community-dwelling older adults. Databases including MEDLINE, Web of Science, PsychINFO, SCOPUS, CINAHL were searched (May 2019). Records on the development of instruments and studies assessing content validity or structural validity of falls efficacy related scales were included. COSMIN methodology was used to guide the review of eligible studies and in the assessment of their methodological quality. Evidence of content validity: relevance, comprehensiveness and comprehensibility and unidimensionality for structural validity were synthesised. A modified GRADE approach was applied to evidence synthesis. Results: Thirty-five studies, of which 18 instruments had been identified, were included in the review. High-quality evidence showed that the Modified Falls Efficacy Scale (FES)-13 items (MFES-13) has sufficient relevance, yet insufficient comprehensiveness for measuring falls efficacy. Moderate quality evidence supported that the FES-10 has sufficient relevance, and MFES-14 has sufficient comprehensibility. Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale–Simplified (ABC-15) has sufficient relevance in measuring balance confidence supported by moderate-quality evidence. Low to very low-quality evidence underpinned the content validity of other instruments. High-quality evidence supported sufficient unidimensionality for eight instruments (FES-10, MFES-14, ABC-6, ABC-15, ABC-16, Iconographical FES (Icon-FES), FES–International (FES-I) and Perceived Ability to Prevent and Manage Fall Risks (PAPMFR)). Conclusion: Content validity of instruments to measure falls efficacy is understudied. Structural validity is sufficient for a number of widely-used instruments. Measuring balance confidence is a subset of falls efficacy. Further work is needed to investigate a broader construct for falls efficacy.21pubpu

Near-falls in Singapore community-dwelling older adults: A feasibility study

From Springer Nature via Jisc Publications RouterBackground: A near-fall is defined as a loss of balance that would result in a fall if sufficient balance recovery manoeuvres are not executed. Compared to falls, near-falls and its associated balance recovery manoeuvres have been understudied. Older adults may not recognise a near-fall or identify the use of their balance recovery manoeuvres to prevent a fall. The consensus on the methods to collect near-fall data is lacking. The primary objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of recruitment and retention. Secondary objectives were to establish evidence that Singapore community-dwelling older adults can identify near-falls and associated balance recovery manoeuvres. Texting and calling methods were explored as reporting methods. Methods: This study took place in Singapore (September to October 2019). Participants were healthy, community-dwelling adults aged 65 or older. Recruitment was done through poster advertisement, and all participants gave informed consent. Participants attended a briefing session and reported their near-fall or fall incidence over 21 days using either daily texting or calling. The primary outcome measures were the recruitment rate, retention rate, preferred modes for data reporting and ability to report near-falls or falls. Secondary outcomes included the self-reported incidence of falls and near-falls. Results: Thirty older adults were recruited in 5 weeks. All participants completed the study. They understood near-fall concepts and were able to report the occurrence and relevant balance recovery manoeuvres used to prevent a fall. 87% (26/30) chose to text while 13% (4/30) selected calling as their reporting method. One actual fall (0.16%) out of 630 responses was reported. Thirty-six incidents (5.7%) of near-falls were recorded. Sixteen participants (53.3%) experienced near-falls and half of this group experienced two or more near-falls. The use of reach-to-grasp strategy (36%), compensatory stepping (52.8%), and other body regions (11.2%) were used to prevent the fall. Conclusions: The study provided evidence that studying near-falls in Singapore community-dwelling older adults is feasible and can be applied to a large-scale study. Recruitment and retention rates were good. Older adults were able to identify near-falls and balance recovery manoeuvres. Both texting and calling were feasible reporting methods, but texting was preferred. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials identifier: NCT04087551. Registered on September 12, 2019This study was financially supported by the Singapore Institute of Technology, Seed Funding Grant (R-MOE-E103-D018). The funders took no part in the design or execution of the study.7pubpu

Validation of a new patient-reported outcome measure of balance recovery confidence (BRC) for community-dwelling older adults: A study protocol

From Crossref journal articles via Jisc Publications RouterBackground: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) provide clinicians a greater understanding of patients’ perceived ability in their physical performance. Existing PROMs on falls efficacy provide meaningful information about the perceived ability in older people to perform common activities of daily living without falling. However, the perceived ability to recover balance from a slip, a trip, or volitional movements has been inadequately assessed. Balance recovery confidence relates to the judgment of self-reactive ability. The scale of balance recovery confidence (BRC) is a new PROM that measures perceived balance recovery self-efficacy. The purpose of the study protocol is to describe the first psychometric evaluation of BRC’s measurement properties.Objective: This study is a validation phase of a newly developed PROM conducted in Singapore.Methods: Two hundred community-dwelling older adults, aged 65 years and older, will complete five self-reported instruments (BRC, Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale, Falls Efficacy Scale-International, Late-Life Function and Disability Instrument-Function and Global Perceived Effect) and three performance measures (Hand strength dynamometer, 30-second Chair Stand, Mini BESTest). Classical test theory methods will assess acceptability, data completeness, targeting of the items, scaling assumptions, internal consistency reliability and construct validity. Factor analysis will establish unidimensionality. Rasch analysis will evaluate item fit, differential item functioning, response scale ordering, targeting of persons and items and the reliability.Results: The findings from this study will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international conferences in rehabilitation-specific context.Conclusions: This is the first validation study of BRC. The study will give confidence among clinicians and researchers to use the BRC in fall management research and clinical practice.https://doi.org/10.1080/10833196.2021.193886726pubpub

Consumer Awareness and Acceptance of Aquaculture Practices and Products in Penang, Malaysia

High demand of seafood products combined with over-harvesting of wild catch aquatic products have elevated aquaculture as the alternative way to strike a balance between seafood product supply and demand. However, uncontrolled aquaculture activities are found to affect the environment negatively as well as the health of consumers. Better awareness and understanding can regulate aquaculture practices and bring about environmental health through consumers’ pressure on the aquaculture production system. This study aimed to identify consumers’ perception on aquaculture industry, to study consumers’ awareness on sustainability of aquaculture practice and also to find ways to increase consumers’ awareness and acceptance of sustainable aquaculture practice and its products. A mixed research method was used in this study combining quantitative questionnaire survey of respondents who bought aquaculture products at wet markets in Penang, and qualitative in-depth focus group discussions (FGDs) with a number of selected respondents. Research findings show that most of the respondents are aware that aquaculture might give lots of negative effects to human health and the environment but, they still chose to buy aquaculture products due to cheaper price than wild catch seafood products. Hence, from the findings, it is clear that even though people have awareness, they have little choice but to accept the quality of aquaculture products. However, the results also show that enhancing consumer awareness and understanding empowers consumers to put pressures on producers paving the way towards sustainable aquaculture and greater acceptance of aquaculture practices and products

A study on the applicability of Kirton adaption-innovation theory in the local context using undergraduates from Nanyang Technological University as subjects

Previous research identified that cognitive personality style of an individual affects the way he/she "appraises problems" and the "type of solutions produced". In addition, this style is said to remain stable even with training.ACCOUNTANC

Comparison of attitudes and learning methods towards statistics in NBS between undergraduates and postgraduates.

This main aim of this study is to compare the differences in statistical attitudes and learning methods between Undergraduates and Postgraduates. Underlying factors for the statistical attitudes include internal, external, demographics and learning methods. We also seek to find out how attitudes affect learning methods

Bridging the gap between academia and practice : a series of articles for practitioners.

This paper presents a series of articles that are related to advertising and marketing. The main objective of the paper is to provide a bridge between academic researchers and marketing practitioners

Entrepreneurship education at the tertiary level : an examination of the present system and future directions

Being an island nation with few natural resources, Singapore has to rely extensively on her human resources to survive in the competitive world today. As our economy develops, there is a growing awareness to be self-reliant and the realisation that overdependence on foreign investors is dangerous. Our group sees the urgent need to expose young people to entrepreneurship and we consider education as one important route in encouraging them to consider self employment as a viable career option. In addition, our group advocates intrapreneurship as a path leading to entrepreneurship as we understand that it is not feasible for all the students to become entrepreneurs immediately upon graduation. Education and training play major and important roles in the development of an entrepreneur. The objective of our project is to examine the various entrepreneurship training programs available at tertiary institutions in Singapore and to suggest new approaches to entrepreneurship training. The various methods of researching for this project is discussed below. A review of literature was undertaken to explore the theory of entrepreneurship with special reference to the issue of entrepreneur education in Singapore. In addition, field studies were conducted to gather information on current entrepreneurship training available at tertiary institutions in Singapore. Interviews were conducted with entrepreneurs and academics to gather feedback and comments on the current entrepreneurship training available. Suggestions of new approaches were documented. Future directions for entrepreneurship education were also discussed. Finally, we concluded our project by suggesting improvements in several areas relevant to the local tertiary institutions.ACCOUNTANC