THE PREVALENCE AND CORRELATES OF FALLS AMONG RURAL OLDER ADULTS

Abstract

<p>Falls are a serious problem among older adults, but there is little knowledge<br>about the prevalence and correlated factors among Thai rural older adults. This crosssectional study was conducted among 386 Thai rural older adults in a province of<br>southern Thailand. The researcher examined the prevalence of falls and association<br>with measures of health conditions, functional impairment, and activities of daily living.<br>Participants were interviewed about sociodemographic data, health conditions,<br>activities of daily living and history of falls. Following this interview, an examination of<br>visual acuity and balance were given. Regarding the falling frequency, 19.4% of the<br>older adults reported having suffered at least one fall during the previous year, and 27.8<br>% declared recurrent episodes. The fall group contained more visual impairment,<br>mobility impairment, and balance impairment than the non-fall group (p < 0.001).<br>Logistic regression analyses showed that participants who had visual, mobility and<br>balance impairment had more than two times the risk of falling as those without<br>impairment (p < 0.05). In addition, participants who had been using a sedative drug had<br>more than five times the risk of falling of those who were not using a sedative drug (p <<br>0.05). Abetter understanding of prevalence and correlates of falls can contribute to the<br>early identification and detection of the risk group among rural older adults.</p> <p> </p

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