CORRELATION FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH FALLS AMONG ELDERLY BRAZILIANS SAMPLE

Objectives: To identify and correlate factors associated with falls among an elderly sample. These factors include gender, level of independence in carrying out activities of daily living, balance, physical activity and upper... [ view full abstract ]

Objectives: To identify and correlate factors associated with falls among an elderly sample. These factors include gender, level of independence in carrying out activities of daily living, balance, physical activity and upper limb function. Materials and methods: a correlational and cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. The sample consisted of forty-three elderly individuals (n=43) and a questionnaire recording falls, the Berg Balance Scale, the Functional Independence Measure and the Box and Blocks Test were applied. To analyse the data, the Spearman correlation test was adopted. Results: 58% of the elderly were female. The average age was 73 years old, with a standard deviation of 9.7 years. The total number of falls was 72% (n=31) based on the sample studied, the higher the age of the participant, the greater the number of falls (r=0.44). The higher the number of falls, the lower the performance in balance (r=-0.43) and independence tests (r=-0.59). The elderly participants who reported practicing some physical activity had a lower incidence of falls (r=0.44). Conclusions: This study presents factors associated with falls in a sample of Brazil´s elderly population, thus, it contributes to the consideration of care initiatives in occupational therapy practice for the promotion of health and development of preventative strategies to reduce the number of falls in this age group.