Impact of a fall in the elderly: an analysis of the risk factors

• Main Authors: Deivson Wendell da Costa Lima (Author), Alyne Mara Maia Cruz (Author), Fabíola Maria Pitombeira de Morais (Author), Arthur Dyego de Morais Torres (Author), Maria Célia de Freitas (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Universidade Federal do Ceará, 2013-11-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 1517-3852; 2175-6783
• Keywords: Elderly;; Accidental Falls;; Quality of Life;; Risk Factors; Nursing; RT1-120
• Source: Rev Rene, Vol 14, Iss 5 (2013)

One aimed to identify the risk factors associated to falls in the elderly, which reflect on their quality of life. This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study. A questionnaire was used to collect data from older adults of an active living group from Russas-CE during the period from August to December 2011. The data were inserted in electronic spreadsheets, analyzed by the descriptive statistics and submitted to odds ratio and chi-square tests with significance level p<0.05. The results indicate a high prevalence of falls in the elderly, especially women (OR:14.636; CI- 2.82-75.954). The intrinsic significant factors were hearing problems (p=0,02) and foot problems (p=0,01). The extrinsic factors were steps in the door (17%), resulting in fractures of the upper limb (69%), morbidity (41%) and psychological complaints (70%). Therefore, it is necessary the development of preventive and rehabilitation actions, ensuring a better quality of life for the elderly.