Health Literacy and Fall Prevention Behavior Among Elderly People in the Community Mueang District, Surat Thani Province
Keywords:
Health Literacy, Fall Prevention Behaviors, ElderlyAbstract
This descriptive research aimed to examine: 1) health literacy regarding fall prevention, 2) fall prevention behaviors, and 3) the relationship between health literacy and fall prevention behaviors among elderly individuals in the community of Mueang District, Surat Thani Province. The sample consisted of 365 elderly participants. The research instruments included: 1) a health literacy questionnaire and 2) a fall prevention behavior questionnaire, with content validity indices of 0.80 and 0.82, and reliability coefficients of 0.86 and 0.80, respectively. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis.
The findings revealed that elderly participants demonstrated high levels across all dimensions: knowledge and understanding of fall prevention (M=4.27, SD=0.70), access to fall prevention information and services (M=4.07, SD=0.77), communication regarding fall prevention (M=4.17, SD=0.77), self-management of health conditions (M=4.20, SD=0.73), media literacy for fall prevention (M=4.20, SD=0.70), decision-making for fall prevention (M=4.15, SD=0.69), and fall prevention behaviors (M=4.35, SD=0.68). Health literacy in fall prevention demonstrated significant positive correlations with fall prevention behaviors at the 0.01 level across all dimensions. Communication for enhancing expertise showed a moderate correlation (r=0.494), while self-management of health conditions (r=0.445), media literacy (r=0.426), knowledge and understanding of health (r=0.389), and decision-making for appropriate practices (r=0.386) all exhibited moderate correlations. Access to information and services demonstrated a low correlation (r=0.285).
Healthcare organizations should develop comprehensive health literacy enhancement programs for elderly individuals, focusing on improving understanding, health information seeking skills, and providing specific guidance tailored to each individual’s life context to facilitate behavioral changes in fall prevention. Additionally, programs should be established to develop health-related decision-making skills that are appropriate for elderly individuals and can be effectively implemented in their daily lives.
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