Home hazards with fear of falling: findings from the baseline study of the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research (MELoR)

Background: Fear of falling (FoF) is a common issue among older people, impacting on psychological health, functional performance and mortality. Many factors associated with fear of falling have been investigated but little is known about the role of home hazards. Home hazards can be due to unsafe e...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Romli, Muhammad Hibatullah, Mackenzie, Lynette, Lovarini, Meryl, Clemson, Lindy, Tan, Maw Pin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media 2021
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/97539/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/97539/1/ABSTRACT.pdf
_version_ 1848862626155593728
author Romli, Muhammad Hibatullah
Mackenzie, Lynette
Lovarini, Meryl
Clemson, Lindy
Tan, Maw Pin
author_facet Romli, Muhammad Hibatullah
Mackenzie, Lynette
Lovarini, Meryl
Clemson, Lindy
Tan, Maw Pin
author_sort Romli, Muhammad Hibatullah
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Background: Fear of falling (FoF) is a common issue among older people, impacting on psychological health, functional performance and mortality. Many factors associated with fear of falling have been investigated but little is known about the role of home hazards. Home hazards can be due to unsafe environmental and functional features. This study is aims to evaluate the association between home hazards with fear of falling among community-dwelling individuals aged 55 years and over. Methods: Baseline data with 1,489 older individuals from the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research (MELoR) study were analyzed. Home visits for interview and observations in the home were conducted with the participants. FoF was established with a single-item question and home hazards with the Home Falls and Accidents Screening Tool (HOME FAST). Results: The majority (76.4%) of older participants experienced FoF. The history of falls was not associated with FoF (p = 0.868), but FoF was associated with participants limiting their daily activities (p < 0.001). Home hazards were less likely (p = 0.023) and functional issues were more likely (p < 0.001) to be associated with a high degree of FoF. However, both home hazards domains were not associated with activity restriction due to FoF. Conclusions: Education about home hazards from the perspective of person-environment interaction may encourage home hazards management and reduce FoF which should be evaluated in future studies.
first_indexed 2025-11-15T13:20:01Z
format Article
id upm-97539
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-15T13:20:01Z
publishDate 2021
publisher Frontiers Media
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling upm-975392022-11-25T08:34:13Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/97539/ Home hazards with fear of falling: findings from the baseline study of the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research (MELoR) Romli, Muhammad Hibatullah Mackenzie, Lynette Lovarini, Meryl Clemson, Lindy Tan, Maw Pin Background: Fear of falling (FoF) is a common issue among older people, impacting on psychological health, functional performance and mortality. Many factors associated with fear of falling have been investigated but little is known about the role of home hazards. Home hazards can be due to unsafe environmental and functional features. This study is aims to evaluate the association between home hazards with fear of falling among community-dwelling individuals aged 55 years and over. Methods: Baseline data with 1,489 older individuals from the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research (MELoR) study were analyzed. Home visits for interview and observations in the home were conducted with the participants. FoF was established with a single-item question and home hazards with the Home Falls and Accidents Screening Tool (HOME FAST). Results: The majority (76.4%) of older participants experienced FoF. The history of falls was not associated with FoF (p = 0.868), but FoF was associated with participants limiting their daily activities (p < 0.001). Home hazards were less likely (p = 0.023) and functional issues were more likely (p < 0.001) to be associated with a high degree of FoF. However, both home hazards domains were not associated with activity restriction due to FoF. Conclusions: Education about home hazards from the perspective of person-environment interaction may encourage home hazards management and reduce FoF which should be evaluated in future studies. Frontiers Media 2021 Article PeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/97539/1/ABSTRACT.pdf Romli, Muhammad Hibatullah and Mackenzie, Lynette and Lovarini, Meryl and Clemson, Lindy and Tan, Maw Pin (2021) Home hazards with fear of falling: findings from the baseline study of the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research (MELoR). Frontiers in Public Health, 8 (1). art. no. 612599. pp. 1-7. ISSN 2296-2565 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.612599/full 10.3389/fpubh.2020.612599
spellingShingle Romli, Muhammad Hibatullah
Mackenzie, Lynette
Lovarini, Meryl
Clemson, Lindy
Tan, Maw Pin
Home hazards with fear of falling: findings from the baseline study of the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research (MELoR)
title Home hazards with fear of falling: findings from the baseline study of the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research (MELoR)
title_full Home hazards with fear of falling: findings from the baseline study of the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research (MELoR)
title_fullStr Home hazards with fear of falling: findings from the baseline study of the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research (MELoR)
title_full_unstemmed Home hazards with fear of falling: findings from the baseline study of the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research (MELoR)
title_short Home hazards with fear of falling: findings from the baseline study of the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research (MELoR)
title_sort home hazards with fear of falling: findings from the baseline study of the malaysian elders longitudinal research (melor)
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/97539/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/97539/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/97539/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/97539/1/ABSTRACT.pdf