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The effectiveness of a recurrent fall prevention program applied to elderly people undergoing fracture treatment
Hesna Gürler1, Nurhan Bayraktar2
1Nursing Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Turkey.
Background:
Worldwide 30-40% of people aged of 65 and over fall each year. It is important to develop preventive interventions for falls in the elderly to prevent injuries leading to mortality and morbidity.
Objectives:
This study evaluated the effectiveness of a recurrent fall prevention program in elderly individuals undergoing fracture treatment.
Methods:
A pretest-posttest intervention study. A recurrent fall prevention program including assessment of fall risk factors, education on falls and home modifications was developed for elderly people undergoing fracture treatment for 52 patients.
Results:
In the first evaluation before the delivery of the recurrent fall prevention program, the number of risk factors was 17.63 ± 3.40 as mean ± standart deviation. Following implementation of the fall prevention program, the number of risk factors decreased to 15.73 ± 3.19 in the first follow-up and decreased to 14.92 ± 3.06 in the second follow-up. Knowledge scores increased to 6.09 ± 1.65 in the first follow-up and to 6.71 ± 1.53 in the second follow-up, while it was 5.50 ± 1.54 in first evaluation. The differences between follow-ups were statistically significant. During the 3-month study period, 15.4% of participants experienced fall.
Conclusion:
The recurrent fall prevention program was effective in reducing fall-related risk factors and increase fall knowledge. Health care professionals should assess older people for fall risk factors and increase their awareness for falls.
