Evaluation of older people's knowledge, awareness, motivation and perceptions about falls and falls prevention in residential aged care homes: a tale of two cities

Falls prevention strategies can only be effective in reducing falls amongst older people if they are adopted and enacted in their daily lives. There is limited evidence identifying what older people in residential aged care (RAC) homes understand about falls and falls prevention, or what may limit o...

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Main Authors: Francis-Coad, J., Watts, T., Etherton-Beer, C., Panes, G., Griffiths, H., Anderson, M., Williams, T., Griffiths, B., Nobre, D., Hill, Anne-Marie
Format: Journal Article
Published: Cambridge University Press 2018
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/69496
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author Francis-Coad, J.
Watts, T.
Etherton-Beer, C.
Panes, G.
Griffiths, H.
Anderson, M.
Williams, T.
Griffiths, B.
Nobre, D.
Hill, Anne-Marie
author_facet Francis-Coad, J.
Watts, T.
Etherton-Beer, C.
Panes, G.
Griffiths, H.
Anderson, M.
Williams, T.
Griffiths, B.
Nobre, D.
Hill, Anne-Marie
author_sort Francis-Coad, J.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Falls prevention strategies can only be effective in reducing falls amongst older people if they are adopted and enacted in their daily lives. There is limited evidence identifying what older people in residential aged care (RAC) homes understand about falls and falls prevention, or what may limit or enable their adoption of strategies. This study was conducted in two countries and explored older people's knowledge and awareness of falls and their preferences, opportunities and motivation to undertake falls prevention strategies. A cross-sectional survey was administered to participants (N = 70) aged 65 years and over, living in six RAC homes in Perth, Australia and six RAC homes in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Participants had limited knowledge about intrinsic falls risk factors and strategies to address these and frequently expressed self-blame regarding falling. Almost all (N = 67, 95.7%) participants felt highly motivated to maintain their current functional mobility and independence in everyday tasks. Key preferences for receiving falls prevention messages favoured a positive approach promoting wellness and independence (N = 41, 58.6%) via pictorial posters or brochures (N = 37, 52.9%) and small group discussions preferably with demonstrations (N = 18, 25.7%). Findings from this study may assist organisations and staff to more effectively engage with older people living in RAC about falls prevention and design targeted resources to address the motivations and preferences of this population.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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publishDate 2018
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-694962018-08-23T01:38:43Z Evaluation of older people's knowledge, awareness, motivation and perceptions about falls and falls prevention in residential aged care homes: a tale of two cities Francis-Coad, J. Watts, T. Etherton-Beer, C. Panes, G. Griffiths, H. Anderson, M. Williams, T. Griffiths, B. Nobre, D. Hill, Anne-Marie Falls prevention strategies can only be effective in reducing falls amongst older people if they are adopted and enacted in their daily lives. There is limited evidence identifying what older people in residential aged care (RAC) homes understand about falls and falls prevention, or what may limit or enable their adoption of strategies. This study was conducted in two countries and explored older people's knowledge and awareness of falls and their preferences, opportunities and motivation to undertake falls prevention strategies. A cross-sectional survey was administered to participants (N = 70) aged 65 years and over, living in six RAC homes in Perth, Australia and six RAC homes in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Participants had limited knowledge about intrinsic falls risk factors and strategies to address these and frequently expressed self-blame regarding falling. Almost all (N = 67, 95.7%) participants felt highly motivated to maintain their current functional mobility and independence in everyday tasks. Key preferences for receiving falls prevention messages favoured a positive approach promoting wellness and independence (N = 41, 58.6%) via pictorial posters or brochures (N = 37, 52.9%) and small group discussions preferably with demonstrations (N = 18, 25.7%). Findings from this study may assist organisations and staff to more effectively engage with older people living in RAC about falls prevention and design targeted resources to address the motivations and preferences of this population. 2018 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/69496 10.1017/S0144686X18000697 Cambridge University Press restricted
spellingShingle Francis-Coad, J.
Watts, T.
Etherton-Beer, C.
Panes, G.
Griffiths, H.
Anderson, M.
Williams, T.
Griffiths, B.
Nobre, D.
Hill, Anne-Marie
Evaluation of older people's knowledge, awareness, motivation and perceptions about falls and falls prevention in residential aged care homes: a tale of two cities
title Evaluation of older people's knowledge, awareness, motivation and perceptions about falls and falls prevention in residential aged care homes: a tale of two cities
title_full Evaluation of older people's knowledge, awareness, motivation and perceptions about falls and falls prevention in residential aged care homes: a tale of two cities
title_fullStr Evaluation of older people's knowledge, awareness, motivation and perceptions about falls and falls prevention in residential aged care homes: a tale of two cities
title_full_unstemmed Evaluation of older people's knowledge, awareness, motivation and perceptions about falls and falls prevention in residential aged care homes: a tale of two cities
title_short Evaluation of older people's knowledge, awareness, motivation and perceptions about falls and falls prevention in residential aged care homes: a tale of two cities
title_sort evaluation of older people's knowledge, awareness, motivation and perceptions about falls and falls prevention in residential aged care homes: a tale of two cities
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/69496