Falls in Geriatric Population- A Cross Sectional Study for Assessment of the Risk Factors
Abstract
Objective: To assess the risk factors for falls in geriatric population of aged 60 and above
Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted from September to December 2012 on geriatric population of age 60 and above. A total of 100 participants were selected through consecutive sampling technique. Personal interviews were conducted. Chi square test was applied as the test of significance for finding association between falls and risk factors. P value less than 0.05 was taken as significant.
Results: A total of 100 participants were included in the study, male and female ratio was 2:3. A large portion of participants had a history of fall as 45% said they had also fallen previously while the remaining 55% gave no history of fall. Fractures were the outcome of 51% of the falls that were included into this study. Majority fractures observed were in the lower limb (59%), Majority of the participants, 51% gave slipping or tripping over some object as the reason of their fall only one third 33% were in the affirmative that physiotherapists can bring a change in their lifestyle. The time of fall as mentioned by the participants was for the majority in the morning as 56% falls occurred before noon.
Conclusion: Approximately fifty percent of the falls had resulted in fractures especially of the lower limb. Life style modifications that can help in minimizing the risk of falls should be incorporated in daily life to avert harmful consequences.
Downloads
References
Sathar, Zeba A, John B, Casterline .The Onset of Fertility Transition in Pakistan. Pop Dev Rev 1998 ; 24 : 773-96.
Ali SM, Hussain J . Fertility Transition in Pakistan: Evidence from Census. Pakistan Dev Rev 2001 ;40:537-50.
Hakim A, Cleland JG. Pakistan Fertility and Family Planning Survey 1996-97 (PFFPS). Main Report. Islamabad: National Inst Pop Stud ;1998.278 p.
ONU . World Population Ageing 1950–2050. New York: United Nations;2002.3p.
http://www.prb.org/DataFinder/Topic/Bars.aspx?ind=11
Wolf S, Barnhart H, Kutner N, McNeeley E, Coolger C, Xu T, et al. Reducing frailty and falls in older persons: An investigation of Tai Chi and computerised balance training. J Am Geriatr Soc 1996;44: 489-97.
Lach, H.W., Reed, A.T., Arfken, C.L., Miller, J.P., Paige, G.D., Birge, S.J. & Peck, W.A. Falls in the elderly: Reliability of a classification system. J Am Geriatr Soc1991;39: 197-202 .
Alexander BH, Rivara FP, Wolf ME. The cost and frequency of hospitalization for fall-related injuries in older adults. Am J Public Health 1992;82:1020–3
Wailer JA. Injury in aged: clinical and epidemiological implications. N Y State J Med 1974;74:2200-8.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Zunaira Hashmi, Syed Hasan Danish, Farah Ahmad
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Articles published in the Journal of Dow University of Health Sciences are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc/4.0/. This license permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium; provided the original work is properly cited and initial publication in this journal.