Characteristics associated with fear of falling in Hong Kong Chinese elderly residing in care and attention homes

Abstract

Recent studies have revealed that fear of falling is common amongst older adults, especially those who are living in nursing homes, and that it occurs both in those who have experienced a fall and those who have not. Moreover, fear of falling has a deleterious effect on physical and psychological well-being among the aged population. The objective of this study was to identify characteristics associated with fear of falling among Hong Kong Chinese older adults residing in care and attention homes. One hundred elderly residents were interviewed using a face-to-face format. Based on bivariate analysis, fear of falling was found to be significantly associated with self-rated health, sight, orthopedic injury, chronic illness, neurological disease, balance, number of falls in the preceding six months, sustaining an injury during the most recent fall, and level of activity. Multiple regression analyses showed that age, sight, history of fall-related injury, and level of activity were correlates of fear of falling. These findings confirm that effective interventions to reduce fear of falling must be multi-dimensional in approach. © 2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.