Physical Hazards of Residences and Elderly Fall

The fall is the second cause of death due to unintentional injuries worldwide and one of the most common and serious causes of injury is the disability, hospitalization, mortality and morbidity of the elderly. All homes had at least one fall risk factor. The objective of this study was to identify the environmental hazards of the elderly residents along with their respective odds ratio of fall incidents.
In order to observe ethical considerations, informed consent was obtained from participants and the confidentiality of the data was observed. Analytical, case-control study was conducted on 120 elderly injured patients referred to emergency departments of the educational centers. Data was collected using a physical checklist of the inside home and the yard of the elderly's residences. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 17 and odds ratios.
The mean age of the elderly was 78.88 ± 9.69 years. The maximum number of fall incidents in the age group with of range of 80-89 years was 26 cases. Generally the fall incidences due to insufficiencies of elderly’s residents were: lack of railing in both of stairs (OR = 2.14), stairs without railing inside home and yard (OR = 1.93), lack of toilet seat use (OR = 1.72), no installation of handles and bars in the bathroom and toilets (1.48 OR =) and non-slippery flooring in bath and toilet (OR = 1.41).
In overall, by identifying the risk factors such as lack of railing and handles in various parts of their residences, it is possible to plan and implement appropriate interventions in order to prevent and reduce the fall cases in the of elderly population which are considered as a social capital.