Effect of the Fall Prevention Literacy Enhancement Program on Fall Prevention Behaviors Among Older Adults

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study with a two-group pretest-posttest design aimed to compare fall prevention behavior scores among older adults before and after participating in the program, as well as between the experimental and control groups. The sample consisted of 54 older adults aged 60 years and above who were at risk of falling, divided equally into an experimental group and a control group (27 participants each). Research instruments included: 1) screening tools, such as the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) assessment, Mini-Cog cognitive assessment, a health literacy questionnaire on fall prevention in older adults, and a fall risk assessment tool; 2) the intervention tool, which was a fall prevention health literacy promotion program; and 3) data collection tools, including a general information questionnaire and a fall prevention behavior questionnaire for older adults. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics to describe the general characteristics of the participants. Paired t-tests were used to compare fall prevention behavior scores before and after the intervention within each group, and independent t-tests were used to compare the scores between the experimental and control groups after the intervention.

The results revealed that the fall prevention behavior scores of older adults in the experimental group after participating in the program were significantly higher than before the intervention (p-value < 0.001), and also significantly higher than those of the control group (p-value < 0.001). These findings suggest that healthcare professionals can utilize this program as a guideline for effective fall prevention, potentially reducing fall incidents and their associated consequences.