Study of fall and some of its related individual factors among the elderly attending to health centers affiliated to health network of Rey city in 2017

Falls in the elderly has been known as a common and serious problem. Each year about one third of old adults experience a fall. The injuries resulted from fall results in hospitalization, prolong pain, decreased functional performance, disability, and death. The purpose of this study is to investigate the fall and some of its related individual factors among the elderly attending to health centers affiliated to the health network of Rey city. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 368 older adults aged 60 and over who referred to health centers. A “multi-stage” sampling method was considered. The data was collected using a questionnaire completed through interview. The questionnaire included demographic characteristics, number of falls during the past year and individual factors. The standard balance test was also conducted to assess the balance. The data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 16) through the related statistical tests. Correlations were considered significant at α = 0.05. All ethical issues were considered throughout the study. About 62.8% out of the total study group were female and the remaining 37.2% were male with median age of 68.41 ± 6.6. By the use of one-variable logistic regression test, it was found that age, gender, marital status, literacy status, postural hypotension, balance disorder, urine disorders, visual impairment, history of heart attack and sleep disorder all had significant relation with fall in the elderly (P < 0/05). The results of this research showed that one in every four elderly participated in health centers of the health network of Ray city has experienced a fall per year. Thus, in addition to proper assessment of the elderly at risk with individual and environmental factors, to prevent and decrease the rate of falling, they need to be educated. A safe environment should also be provided for them