Citation

Greene D, Sample P, Fruhauf C. Occup. Ther. Health Care 2009; 23(1): 24-39.

Affiliation

Department of Occupational Therapy, The Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/07380570802455532

PMID

23930829

Abstract

This work reports a partial inventory of fall hazards for community-dwelling elders and characterizes older adult responses to fall prevention. Thirty-five seniors living in their homes participated in a fall-prevention initiative designed to identify hazards and make recommendations. Fifteen external hazards were identified and operationalized, and between one and four changes were reported per home in 18 of 22 homes, consistent with recommendations; however, most of the recommendations were unrelated to the cause of later participant falls. Considering the varied circumstances of falls in the community, we question the wisdom of designating specific risk posed by individual hazards and encourage future investigation on the merits of multifaceted evaluation and intervention including the consideration of combinations and interactions of hazards as well as raising caution and awareness.

Language: en