Fall Prevention Pilot Project in the Elderly

Date of Graduation

Fall 2004

Degree

Master of Science in Nursing

Department

Nursing

Committee Chair

Susan Hinck

Abstract

Falls and their resulting injuries have become a serious public health issue among the elderly population. More than half of all falls occur in the home or on home premises. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine whether elderly people who participated in a fall prevention program made recommended environmental and personal changes to reduce falls, and identified factors affecting adherence to the program. Roy's Adaptation Model was the theoretical framework used. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample and to assess subjects' awareness about falls, attitudes about fall risk, fall prevention behaviors, and incidence of falls. The planned intervention included two sessions. Session 1 consisted of a fall risk discussion using a home scale model to help participants identify environmental hazards in their own homes. Session 2 consisted of an in-home visit to see if the participants associated hazards in the model with hazards in their home and thereby eliminating their home hazards. The sample consisted of seven women age 65 and older who were community dwellers. Participants were recruited from a Saint Louis, Missouri home setting where they gathered monthly to play pinochle. Findings revealed a user-friendly fall prevention intervention program.

Keywords

elderly, fall, extrinisic factors, fall prevention, Roy Adaptation Model

Subject Categories

Nursing

Copyright

© Deborah A. Upton

Citation-only

Dissertation/Thesis

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