Comparative Study on Fall Related Characteristics between Single and Recurrent Falls in Community-Dwelling Older Women

Park, Hyoung Sook; Chang, Rang; Park, Kyung Yeon

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the influencing factors on the single and recurrent falls in community-dwelling older women.
METHODS
Seventy eight volunteers aged over 65 were included in the study. The participants experienced at least one fall within the past one year. Data were measured on each participant from May 2007 to September 2007, collected using structured researcher-administered sheets and measuring their physical strengths and analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test and logistic regression analysis.
RESULTS
The prevalence of recurrent falls were 53.8%. The level of education(Z = -2.455, p = .014) and the presence of spouse(chi-square = 4.843, p = .044) showed significant differences between the single-fall group and the recurrent-fall group in the study. Significantly predicting factor on the recurrent falls was the level of education and the variable explained 20.1% of variants in the occurrence of recurrent falls.
CONCLUSION
Although a variety of factors affected the single fall in the elderly women, the level of education and the presence of spouse proved to be the significant factors in their recurrent falls. These factors proven to be significant as the result of this should be reflected in the development of effective programs for preventing the elderly from recurrent falls.