Is the self-perception of the built neighborhood associated with fear of falling in community-dwelling older adults?

Abstract

Introduction: Characteristics of a built neighborhood may aggravate agravett to fear of falling in older adults and this knowledge are important to contribute to developing strategies aimed at reducing fear of falling and their consequences.

Objective: To verify the association between self-perception of built neighborhood characteristics and fear of falling in community-dwelling older adults.

Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional study including 308 community-dwelling older adults. The outcome was fear of falling evaluated through Falls Efficacy Scale International. Older adults were classified with high fear of falling when they obtained values ≥ 23 points and classified as low fear of falling with score < 23 point. The built neighborhood variables were evaluated by the adapted Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to verify associations between the variables.

Results: The prevalence of fear of falling was 48.40%. Significant negative associations were observed between residing near a bus stop, outdoor gyms, safe places to walk during the day, and positive associations between garbage accumulation and/or open sewers and high crime rates and fear of falling.

Conclusion: The association between self-perceived characteristics of built neighborhoods and fear of falling points to the need for improvements in urban infrastructure, especially public spaces, in order to reduce fear of falling in community-dwelling older adults.

Keywords: Accidental Falls; Aged; Independent Living; Risk Factors.