Influencing Factors for Fear of Falling in Degenerative Arthritis Patients

Kim, Jeong Sun

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among fear of falling, pain, anxiety and depression, and to identify influencing factors in elderly women patients with degenerative arthritis living in the community. METHOD: The subjects of this study were 297 elderly women patients with degenerative arthritis. Data was collected by personal interviews using questionnaires. Data was analyzed by the SPSS(version 12.0) computer program, and it included descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient, and Stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS: There was a significant difference (p= .000) in fear of falling according to the level of pain, anxiety, and depression. There was a significant positive correlation among fear of falling, pain, anxiety and depression. Depression, pain, number of medication, age, and anxiety showed significant predictors (43.5%) for fear of falling. CONCLUSION: This study suggested that thoroughly assessing predictors making an impact on fear of falling in the initial nursing assessment is the most important for falls prevention of elderly women patients with degenerative arthritis in the community.