FEAR OF FALLING AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG HUE COMMUNITY-DWELLING ELDERLY

Background: Fear of falling (FoF) causes several detrimental effects on elderly’s physical and mental health, which diminishes the elderly to perform daily activities that they are capable of. Hence, having an insight knowledge into fear of falling and its related factors among senior citizens could carry better implications on fall preventions. Objectives: To indicate prevalence of fear of falling and to investigate the associated factors of fear of falling among the elderly in Hue city. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 427 community-dwelling older adults in Hue City. Using Fall Efficacy Scale – International (FES-I) and The Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (IADL) to assess levels of fear of falling and independence of older adults perform daily living activities. Logistics regression analysis was used to investigate the association between fear of falling and related factors. Results: The prevalence of high fear of falling among community-dwelling elderly was 42.9%, among which walking on a slippery and an uneven surface were two main activities that older adults concerned. There were significantly associations between high fear of falling and female, physical activities, sedentary lifestyle, walking difficulty and environmental discomfort (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Fear of falling among community-dwelling elderly was relatively prevalent. Elderly heathcare programs should encourage seniors to lead a healthy lifestyle and ensure environment safety to reduce the burden of falls. Key words: fear of falling, FES-I, community-dwelling elderly, Hue city