Charles Sturt University, School of Community Health, Albury, New South Wales, Australia.
Wollongong University, DVC Academic, University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
Age Ageing. 2018 Sep 1;47(5):734-740. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afy051.
falls rates in older people continue to rise despite concerted efforts to manage falls risks. As more effective strategies to reduce falls in older people may arise from better understanding their perspectives on falls risk, this study aimed to explore perceptions and behavioural decisions that may affect risk of falling among older people living in regional Australia.
this qualitative research, informed by hermeneutics, explored older people's perspectives on decisions they made that could affect their falls risk. The study involved 26 participants (21 females) aged 65-84 years, residing in regional Australia. In total, 13 participated in semi-structured focus groups and 13 in semi-structured, in-depth interviews.
six key themes illuminated the challenges older people faced in relation to falls risk. These were: the role that independence played in decision making regarding risk; the influence of previous falls experience; older people's level of understanding of risks; ability and willingness to engage with support; the need or desire to cover up a fall history; and the influence of finances in managing risk. Older people's accounts demonstrated they experienced competing influences that impacted upon decisions they made with respect to falls risks. Most significantly, the complex interplay of these influences drove the decisions older people made, sometimes placing them at greater risk of falling.
consideration of the multifaceted issues older people face when managing falls risk, and the influence these factors have on their behaviours, is vital to successfully reducing rates of fall related injuries in this population.
尽管已经采取了协调一致的措施来管理跌倒风险，但老年人的跌倒率仍在持续上升。由于更好地了解老年人对跌倒风险的看法可能会产生更有效的降低老年人跌倒风险的策略，因此本研究旨在探索可能影响居住在澳大利亚偏远地区的老年人跌倒风险的认知和行为决策。
本研究采用解释学方法进行定性研究，探讨了老年人对可能影响其跌倒风险的决策的看法。该研究涉及 26 名年龄在 65-84 岁之间、居住在澳大利亚偏远地区的参与者（21 名女性）。共有 13 名参与者参加了半结构化焦点小组讨论，13 名参与者参加了半结构化深入访谈。
六个关键主题阐明了老年人在跌倒风险方面面临的挑战。这些主题包括：独立在风险决策中的作用；既往跌倒经历的影响；老年人对风险的理解程度；参与支持的能力和意愿；掩盖跌倒史的需求或愿望；以及管理风险的财务状况。老年人的叙述表明，他们面临着相互竞争的影响，这些影响影响了他们对跌倒风险的决策。最重要的是，这些影响的复杂相互作用驱动了老年人做出的决策，有时使他们面临更大的跌倒风险。
考虑老年人在管理跌倒风险时面临的多方面问题，以及这些因素对他们行为的影响，对于成功降低该人群跌倒相关伤害的发生率至关重要。
