Author(s): Ayse Didem ÇAKIR , Betül KUS *, and Funda BÜYÜKYILMAZ
ABSTRACT The fragility, dependency and fall risk levels of the elderly are quite high. Physiological changes brought about by aging may cause recurrent falls in elderly individuals, and their quality of life may be negatively affected due to falls. This study was planned to examine fragility, dependence, fall risk, levels of protective behavior against falling, and the affecting factors in the elderly.
The cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational study was carried out with 200 elderly individuals who were admitted to the osteoporosis outpatient clinic of a university hospital. Data collection was done through Elderly Individual Information Form developed by the researchers, the Edmonton Frail Scale, the Barthel Index, the Itaki Fall Risk Scale, and the Fall Behavioral Scale for Older People.
The mean age of the elderly who participated in the study was 72.07±6.76 years, 79.5% of the participants were female, 68% were primary school graduates, and 93.0% were retirement pensioners. The mean score of Edmonton Frail Scale was 6.06±2.92, Barthel Index was 94.85±12.57, Itaki Fall Risk Scale was 9.85±0.31, and Fall Behavioral Scale for Older People was 2.89±0.46. Many socio-demographic and fall-related risk factors specific to elderly individuals had an effect on the related scale scores (p < 0.05).
The elderly individuals were moderately frail, slightly dependent on others in performing their life activities, had a high risk of fall, and had moderate protective behavior against falls.
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