Architectural Perception and Fear of Falling in the Elderly

Old age is a period of increased dependency, increased risk of accidents and decreased physical abilities. With the increase in the elderly population and falls, the necessity of a holistic approach to the problems of the elderly has become even more important. Falls, which are an important cause of injury in older adults, are caused by the interaction of individual and environmental factors. The most common cause of falls in the elderly is physical factors including the architectural features of houses, gardens, social environment areas and other structures or the internal design features of the spaces. An individual's physical perception of a space determines the knowledge of the experience associated with that space and plays an important role in the evaluation of the space. These evaluations affect the mobility of the person in the space or environment. Fear of falling, which occurs after a fall or the possibility of a fall, is the emergence of a state of anxiety that causes avoidance and reduction of activity in the elderly. We will present an overview of the expansions and meaningful interaction of perceived and designed space, the relationship between spatial perception and fear of falling, and living spaces that support the elderly's participation in the social environment. In this article, the importance of functional and usable spaces in public or private spaces will be discussed in the context of the spatial perception of the elderly in the context of reducing the fear of falling and therefore the fear of falling, and the importance of never falling will be emphasized. In improving the quality of life of the elderly, the perception of the past about the space can have an impact on the future and strategies can be created to support this positively.