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KMID : 0895920020040020176
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Journal of Korean Gerontological Nursing
2002 Volume.4 No. 2 p.176 ~ p.186
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Home Safety Assessment for Fall Prevention in Elderly People in a Rural Community
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Jang In-Sun
Kim Dong-Jun
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Abstract
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This study was done to assess the environmental fall hazards for elderly people in a rural community, and to provide basic data for a prevention program. The participants were 452 elders, 70 years or older, recruited through cluster sampling one rural community. The questionnaire included information on falls in the previous year and factors related to falls, and the checklist for home fall hazards by Josephson, et al. (1991). The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS program for frequencies percentages, and Chi-test. The results are as follows: Of the participants, 21.0% had falls during past year. Most falls occurred on the road(37.9%), indoors and outdoors(bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, yard and stairs 46.8%), in summer(45.2%), on cement(43.2%), while wearing slippers(47.8%), during walking(53.1%), from loose of balance(35.1%), and slipping(31.5%). Of the 452 people, 87.4% were injured in falls and of these, 40.7% sustained serious injures. Of those injured 33.3% went to a hospital or emergency room or were admitted after the fall. Factors such as sex(p=0.006), existence of a spouse(p=0.049), and torn carpets(p=0.004) showed statistically significant relationships with falls. The checklist by Josephson, et al for home fall hazard was difficult to apply in rural Korean houses. In the group which reported falls, 94.6% lived in homes with raised thresholds between rooms. 47.3% had torn carpets, 53.8% had old-style toilets, 73.9% did not have grab bars beside the toilet, 39.5% did not have handrails on stairs and 53.4% had uneven surfaces on pathways.
From the study, recommendations for future study include a longitudinal study to more accurately analyze factors related to falls. There is also a need to develop a checklist for home fall hazards in rural and urban houses in Korea.
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KEYWORD
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elderly, fall, home safety assessment, rural community
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