| Abstract [eng] |
The risk of falling in the older age is a crucial and frequent problem, and consequences which are significantly disrupting human health, increasing their social isolation, deteriorate the quality of life, and often leading to death. It is important not only to assess the risk of falling but also to understand, elderly and old people living in a foster home, risk factors of falling and how to eliminate them. Goal of the analysis - to evaluate elderly and old people living in a care homes fall-risk and their awareness regarding fall-risk factors. Methods of the analysis. A quantitative study was conducted. These instruments were used to determine elderly and old people living in a foster home, risk factors of falling: Morse's Risk Assessment Scale and Anonymous Questionnaire by Lithuanian Authors. Statistical data processing was applied and statistical data analysis were used: χ2 criteria and descriptive statistics. Sample consisted of 140 elderly and old men and women living in a care home. The research was conducted according to ethical principles. Results. Morse's scale of falling helped to determine that more than half (60%) of the elderly and old people in the study are at high risk of experiencing the fall. Diseases of different body systems in elderly and old people living in care homes are statistically significant in relation to the risk of falls. It has been found that elderly and old people with problems of urogenital, cardiovascular, visual, endocrine, nervous, hearing system are more likely to experience falls than those, who are without these problems. Conclusion. Almost every other elderly person living in a care home lacks information on the risks of falling. Most (73.6%) falls appears once in every six months. In their living environment, there are number of fall risk factors that have led to the collapse during one year: mats and tracks, stairs without railing, inconvenient stair treads, slippery floors. The risk of falling down is much more common in public places than in their living environment. Risk of falling is more common for women than men because of unstable furniture, inadequate height of the toilet and bath, lack of holders. |
