Abstract
Long term care elders with fear of falling may restrict their activity resulting in
declines in function and excess disability. To further explore this problem, a review
of the literature was conducted. The search yielded 26 studies on the epidemiology
of fear of falling in nursing homes and assisted living as well as intervention studies
in these settings. Fear of falling is common, affecting more than 50% of long term
care elders and is associated with negative outcomes, including falls, functional
impairments, depression, and poor quality of life. Longitudinal studies are rare.
There were few intervention studies, with most testing exercise programs, including
balance training, such as t’ai chi, and little research testing other approaches.
Few conclusions can be drawn about interventions, as most sample sizes were small
and the interventions and measurement varied widely. Additional research is needed
to identify long term care residents most in need of intervention, and the best ways
to reduce fear of falling and its consequences.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 18, 2013
Footnotes
The authors report no conflicts of interest regarding this manuscript.
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 American Medical Directors Association, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
