Falls in institutionalized elders in the city of Goiânia

Abstract

The problem of falling among elders constitutes an important problem of public health and it should be always highlighted, not only for its direct consequences but also for its cumulating effects and incapacitating and burdensome repercussions. Several studies show that among the institutionalized elders, falls are more frequent and exhibit multifactorial grounds. The objective of this study were: to identify the prevail of falls and their context of occurrence among institutionalized elders; to study the relationship between the dependent variable (the falls) and the social-demographic variables; to evaluate the multidimensional data related to the elders as predisposing factors for future falls and to characterize the physical environment of the institutions, estimating the predisposing factors for falls. It was made a transversal descriptive survey covering six elder institutions of long permanence in the city of Goiânia. The sample of the investigation incorporated 95 elders that fit in the inclusion and exclusion criteria. It was used a questionnaire with social-demographic data; information about falling episodes on the last twelve months and their context of occurrence; clinical data related to health-disease conditions; cognitive  data (Geriatric  Depression  Scale of Yesavage); evaluation of the capacity for the basic daily life activities (Katz's Scale for Daily Life Activities); examination of equilibrium and gait through the “Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment” scale  (POMA), version POMA-Brazil and a questionnaire with information related to the institutions environment. For the descriptive analysis and tests of association between the dependent variable and the social-demographic variables, it was used the qui-square test – the value of p used as standard was 0,05 (5%). The findings show that 34,7% of elders relate falls in the last 12 months and the significantly considerable social-demographic risk factor was the female sex (p=0,045). The average elders that were examined present risk factors linked to the ones  indicated in  literature for falls. On the same way, all the elder institutions of long permanence present environmental risks predisposing falls. The data of this research indicate the necessity of creation of measurements to prevent future falls.

Key words: Falling accident; Elder; Environmental risks; Risk factors.