Caregiver fear of falling and functional ability among seniors residing in long-term care facilities

Consistent with fear-avoidance models of falling and pain, past research has demonstrated that, among adults living in the community, excessive fear of falling and fear of pain result in activity restriction and predict functional outcomes including falls (possibly because self-imposed activity restriction, due to fear of pain or falling, can lead to muscular decline and deconditioning). Among seniors with dementia, who rely on others for their care, decisions concerning activity restrictions are made by caregivers. As such, caregivers' fear about the possibility of care recipient falls and pain is important to examine.

In this investigation of patients with dementia, our goal was to conduct a longitudinal investigation of the relationship between professional caregivers' fears (about the possibility that care recipients will experience falls and pain) with long-term care (LTC) resident functional ability and falls.

For the purposes of our 3-month longitudinal study, nurses' and special care aides' fears that specific residents might experience pain and falls were examined. Resident functional ability was assessed, based on an established and well-validated caregiver-administered questionnaire, both before and after the 3-month period. Falls and fall-related injuries sustained by residents were recorded.

After controlling for physical risk factors for falling and functional ability at the beginning of the study, caregiver fears that residents might experience pain or falls were found to be predictive of restraint/restriction use. In turn, the use of restraints/restrictions was found to be predictive of future functional ability of residents with dementia (after controlling for functional ability at the beginning of the study) and injurious falls (after controlling for physical risk factors for falling).

This is the first study to apply a modified fear-avoidance model of falls and pain to seniors with dementia who reside in LTC facilities. Our results demonstrate the importance of considering caregiver fears concerning falls and pain, when developing programs designed to optimize the use of physical restrictions (to prevent falls and minimize functional decline) in LTC facilities.