Exploring the Current Tools for Fall Risk Assessment in Older Adults Across Southeast Asia and the Need for...

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Falls are a major cause of injury, disability, and mortality in older adults globally.
• Southeast Asia (SEA) faces a significant burden of fall-related incidents, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
• Existing fall risk assessment tools may not capture culturally specific determinants relevant to the ASEAN region.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and map fall risk assessment tools used in older adults across SEA countries.
• To explore the influence of cultural practices and local wisdom on tool applicability.
• To determine the need for culturally adapted fall risk models in the ASEAN region.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review following PRISMA-ScR and JBI methodology.
• Searches conducted in Scopus, PubMed/MEDLINE, and Web of Science (WoS) databases (March 2026).
• Inclusion of English-language, full-text articles from 2015-2025 across 11 ASEAN countries.

Main Results:

• Thirty-two primary-data studies were included, with a concentration in Thailand and Malaysia.
• Western tools dominated (84.4%), with minimal cultural adaptation; the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test was most frequent.
• Six ASEAN countries lacked eligible primary studies, and cultural practices like floor-level mobility were unaddressed.

Conclusions:

• Fall risk research in SEA is geographically limited and dominated by unadapted Western tools.
• Culturally specific factors (e.g., barefoot walking, domestic hazards) are overlooked.
• Development of culturally adapted tools, multicenter validation, and digital scaling, guided by the SEA-FALL framework, is urgently needed.