Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Mar;24(3):474-480.
doi: 10.1080/13607863.2018.1537359. Epub 2019 Jan 9.

Fear of falling in sensory impaired nursing home residents

Helen W Lach  1 , Alicia J Lozano  2 , Alexandra L Hanlon  2 , Pamela Z Cacchione  2
Affiliations

Fear of falling in sensory impaired nursing home residents

Helen W Lach et al. Aging Ment Health. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

Objectives: Fear of falling (FOF) causes excess disability in nursing home (NH) residents and is associated with vision and hearing impairment. We explored factors associated with FOF in 225 NH residents with vision, hearing or dual sensory impairment.Methods: We explored age, gender, cognition, depression, social engagement, illness burden, falls, physical function, mobility, falls self-efficacy and outcome expectancy as predictors of FOF using univariate logistic regression modeling, followed by multivariate analysis by group (visual, hearing, dual, total sample).Results: Fifty-one percent of residents had FOF. Residents who had FOF reported better cognition, lower falls self-efficacy, and higher outcome expectancy in the total sample and in most impairment groups. Falls outcome expectancy predictedFOF in the total sample and in the visual and hearing sensory impairment groups.Conclusion: When addressing FOF in NH residents it is important to address sensory status along with fears about falling to promote function.

Keywords: Falls; disability; fear of falling; hearing; nursing home; sensory impairment; vision.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Braungart E Zarit SH, Malmberg B, & Johansson B (2007). Physical, cognitive, and psychosocial variables from the Disablement Process Model predict patterns of independence and the transition into disability for the oldest-old. Gerontologist, 47(5), 613–624. - PubMed
    1. Becker C, & Rapp K (2010). Fall prevention in nursing homes. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, 26, 693–704. doi: 10.1016/j.cger.2010.07.004 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bergen G, Stevens MR, & Burns ER (2016). Falls and fall injuries among adults ages ≥ 65 years - United States, 2014. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 65(3), 993–998. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6537a2 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Binder E, Miller S, & Ball L (2001). Practice Concepts: Development of a test of physical performance for the nursing home setting. Gerontologist, 41: 671–679. - PubMed
    1. Borges Sde M, Radanovic M, & Forlenza OV (2015). Fear of falling and falls in older adults with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. Aging Neuropsychology & Cognition, 22(3), 312–321. doi: 10.1080/13825585.2014.933770 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types