Development of a fall prevention model in elderly people with diabetes With the participation of health network partners in the community Yang Sawang Subdistrict, Rattanaburi District, Surin Province R

Abstract

   This research and development (R&D) project aimed to 1) analyze the situation, risk factors, and needs for fall prevention; 2) develop a fall prevention model through the participation of health network partners; and 3) evaluate the effectiveness of the developed model among elderly people with diabetes in Yang Sawang Subdistrict, Rattanaburi District, Surin Province. The research was conducted in three phases between January and August 2025. The sample consisted of 88 elderly people aged 60 years and older with diabetes, selected using simple random sampling. The effectiveness was evaluated using a quasi-experimental research design with pre- and post-test measurements. Data were analyzed using paired t-test and Chi-square test.

          The research results showed that the developed model consisted of three main components: 1) improving physical fitness; 2) modifying the environment (in collaboration with the Subdistrict Administrative Organization); and 3) enhancing health literacy and health behaviors. (Through home visits by Village Health Volunteers) After implementing the model, the incidence of falls decreased from 79.55% to 0%, clearly demonstrating the effectiveness of the developed model. The mean total risk factors and environmental risk factors decreased significantly (p < 0.001), and health literacy increased significantly (p < 0.001). Fear of falling decreased from 79.55% to only 19.32%. The main obstacles are the workload of sub-district health center personnel and the lack of budget for home improvements. The path to sustainability is to transfer the home visit task to Village Health Volunteers and create a financial support mechanism in collaboration with the Sub-district Administrative Organization.

          Conclusion and Recommendations: The developed model is highly effective in significantly reducing the risk and incidence of falls. However, long-term sustainable implementation requires restructuring of roles and responsibilities, focusing on distributing tasks to network partners and providing appropriate financial resources and digital data recording tools.