A Factors Affecting Risk of Falls of Elderly in Responsible Area of Taksin Primary Care Cluster, Mueang District, Tak Province

Abstract

This cross-sectional analytical study aimed to investigate factors affecting the risk of falls among the elderly. The study subjects recruited 387 elderly people aged 60 years and over who lived in the areas under responsibility of Taksin Primary Care Cluster, Mueang District, Tak Province for more than 6 months. A questionnaire was developed based on the literature reviews to collect data by an interview. Analyses of data complied descriptive statistics: frequencies, numbers, percentages, means, maximum-minimum values, and standard deviations. Logistic regression and measured relative size with odds ratio were to analyze how much risky originated demographic factors had importance in relation to the falls in the aging persons. The results showed that the aging group had a prone of falls approximately 31.78%. Factors affecting the cause of falls were female 2.31 times (95%CI=1.38-3.94) over male. The elderly who earned only a primary school or under was more risk of falls than that of whom an education was above primary school 2.76 times (95%CI=1.73-4.41). The elderly with health problems were 3.97 times more likely have falls than the healthy ones (95%CI=1.90-8.28). The aged persons who took medications regularly were 2.73 times more likely to have falls than who did not take medications (95%CI=1.57-4.75). Having a walking aid was 5.55 times more likely to fall than not having a walking aid (95%CI=2.95-10.43). The elderly who living at home with risky stair way had a greater chance of falling 5.71 times (95%CI=1.71-19.01). The findings from this study suggested that the focus should be placed on the health care for older adults with underlying diseases, and step-by-step changing the surrounding environmental factors related to fall risks and house modification for elderly to get used to daily activities at home to protect the falls.