The Assessment and Intervention for Diminishing Fear of Falling among Elderly Adults

Fear of Falling (FOF) is the most commonly reported fear among elderly adults. Several community-based studies of independently living elders have estimated that between 25 and 55% of this population lives with the FOF. FOF can lead to deconditioning and thereby possibly increase the risk for falling, compromise social interaction and increase risk of isolation, depression, and also impacts on the quality of life of elderly people. FOF is a significant health problem among the elderly; however there are few research studies involving this issue and no studies were found testing interventions to diminish FOF in Taiwan. This project is proposed to be a three-year project. The purposes of this project are to estimate the prevalence of FOF, and to find the risk factors of FOF. Moreover, the visual models for reducing FOF will be developed and examined in the community-dwelling, hospitalization, and nursing home resident elders. A sample of 160 of elders will be recruited in to a 4-group pretest-posttest experimental design and randomly assigned to experimental groups and a comparison group (40 in each group) from the 1st to 3rd year respectively. FOF-reducing education is appropriate for all elders. The results of this study can help health care providers in Taiwan to individualize their interventions to the specific needs' of the elderly, thus helping to prevent FOF among elders regardless of where they are living and what is their functional status.

Project ID:PC9902-0604
External Project ID:NSC97-2314-B182-031-MY3