Presence of home fall risk factors, fall perception, and fear of falling in older adults: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: Concerns regarding home falls, perceptions of falling, and associated fear are essential to understanding the challenges faced by older adults and to inform prevention and intervention strategies. Objective: To investigate the association of home fall risk factors with sociodemographic, health-related, perception of falls, and fear of falling variables in older adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 201 older adults of both sexes residing in South and Southeast of Brazil. A sociodemographic and health profile questionnaire, the Falls Risk Awareness Questionnaire (FRAQ-Brazil), a questionnaire on perception of home fall risk, and the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I-Brazil) were utilized. Data were analyzed using the chi-square test, binary logistic regression, and Hosmer-Lemeshow test (p < 0.05). Results: A higher proportion of older adults with lower levels of education, lower monthly income, and from the southern region of the country were noted to have more home fall risk factors (p < 0.05). A higher proportion of older adults with good perceived health engaged in physical exercise, and without reported osteoarthritis were highlighted to have fewer home fall risk factors (p < 0.05). A higher proportion of older adults with less fear of falling were evidenced to have fewer home fall risk factors (p < 0.05). Illiterate older adults, those with incomplete primary education, non-users or light users of medication, and those with higher income were found to have higher odds of having more than eight home fall risk factors. Conclusion: The results of this study emphasize the importance of education, income, and geographical location in identifying home fall risk factors among older adults.