Effect of Fall-Preventive Program on Fear of Falling, Falling Frequency, and Quality of Life in the Elderly Living in Nursing Homes

Falls in the elderly cause all kinds of damage that may lead to dependence, lower self-efficacy, depression, daily activity limitation, hospitalization or admission to nursing homes and the cost to individuals and society. This study aimed to investigate the effect of fall preventive programs, falling frequency and quality of life in the elderly living in nursing homes in Khorramabad and Ilam cities.
This semi-experimental study was conducted on 50 elderly people living in two nursing homes in Khorramabad and Ilam cities. Duration of interventions was two months and then four months follow-up after the interventions. The intervention included exercise programs (stretching, balance, strength and Pilates), training for older people, and staff and environment reforms. Data collection tools included demographic data form, form of frequency of falling in the last 6 months, fear of falling questionnaire (FES), and SF-36 quality of life in the form of 36 questions. Data were analyzed using independent and paired t-test, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis and Spearman correlation coefficient by the SPSS 18 software.
The mean age of the participants was 69.63 ± 8.71 years. Results showed that the mean and standard deviation of fear of falling before and after the intervention were 65.86 ± 11.03 and 48.74 ± 9.84, respectively (P = 0.0001). The mean and standard deviation of the number of falls before and after the intervention were 2.56 ± 1.09 and 1.5 ± 0.707, respectively (P = 0.0001). Also, the mean and standard deviation of the quality of life before and after the intervention were 36.26 ± 13.65 and 56.21 ± 11.67, respectively (P = 0.0001).
The results showed that implementing fall-preventive programs in the elderly can reduce the frequency of falls, and fear of falling and improve the quality of life of the elderly living in nursing homes. Therefore, this issue needs more attention and care on a massive scale, including training and paying attention to the elderlie's living places and removing environmental risks.