Incidence of Elderly Falls and Exercise for Falls Prevention in Older People Living in Hat Yai Municipality, Hat Yai District, Songkhla Province

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to study the incidence of falls and the situation of fall prevention through exercise in the elderly in Hat Yai City Municipality, Songkhla province. The samples were 145 elderly aged 60 years and over in Hat Yai City Municipality, using a two-tiered random sampling plan and simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using questionnaires and observations during September and December 2022. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics including percentages, means, and standard deviations.

The study found that, among 22,183 elderly in Hat Yai Municipality, there were 23 persons (15.90%) had incidences of falls in the past 6 months. There were 104 persons (71.10%) who exercised. Data from observations showed that there were 18 groups for elderly people to participate. All of them had physical exercises in 3 directions. Exercise activities included rhythmic dance, tai chi, bamboo stick exercise, social dance and Wai Tan Kong. Exercises were essential to fall prevention therefore, awareness of fall  surveillance in the elderly should be raised by screening for comprehensive risks together with supporting physical exercises according to the needs of the elderly; taking into account the principles of adequate exercise, benefits and forms of exercise that most suitable for elderly to prevent falls in the future.