Stigma of concerns about falling among older adults

The 2022 world guidelines for falls prevention and management for older adults recommended the inclusion of concerns about falls in fall risk assessments, and to use the term 'concerns about falling'. This qualitative study is the first to explore if older adults perceive a stigma around concerns about falls, how older adults discuss their concerns about falling, and older adults' views on associated terminology.

We conducted six focus groups with 22 community-dwelling older adults (16 women, 6 men, mean 75.10 years). Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed inductively, and then deductively to directly address our research focus.

Our sample did not express preference for particular terminology when discussing concerns about falling. We identified two themes: 1) Fear and anxiety of falling: While participants used terms interchangeably, fear and anxiety represented two distinct lived experiences: Fear was a protective instinct in response to a specific threat of falling in the moment, whereas anxiety was worry about an indirect threat of falling outside of its context. 2) Stigma of falls: Participants were at ease in discussing concerns about falls with their peer group but not with others due to stigma. They expressed a reluctance to speak with their doctor about their concerns about falls.

Our findings suggest that there is a stigma of concerns about falling that may inhibit older adults seeking support to reduce their risk of falls. Practitioners will need to be proactive and sensitive in discussing concerns about falls with older adults.