Horpibulsuk Jitwadee, Chinkulkijniwat Avirut, Panichpisal Kessarin, Burk Katy
J Med Assoc Thai. 2016 Oct;99 Suppl 7:S1-7.
Falls and their consequences are serious health problems among the elderly. In Thailand, temples are where the elderly often visit to pray and socialize with others. However, studies related to characteristics and severity of falls within temples are limited.
To study characteristics of falls (falls, near falls, and fall-related injuries) and severity of falls among the elderly in temples.
A cross-sectional analytic study. Subject is elderly population group (aged 60 and above) in the province of Nakhon Ratchasima (17 districts) who attend temples at least once a week (22 temples). The survey was conducted by questionnaires that required personal information, medical condition, frequency of fall, fall description, fall location, time of fall, and severity after a fall.
Total 742 subjects aged adult were screened through questionnaires. A number of 451 persons were reported to have fallen in temples, which was 60.8% of the population, whereas 76.1% of the population was said to have fallen or nearly fell. Most of the subjects have fallen only once in the past year by tripping (55%) and slipping (28.7%). Most of the falls occur outdoors (48.0%) rather than indoors (30.4%) and in the bathroom (21.6%). Some adults do not have any fall-related injuries (33.5%), though most of them experience muscle pain (27.3%). The rate of fractures among the elderly was 7.1%. A total of 117 subjects required hospitalization (25.9%). Upon being discharged from the hospital, 24.8% of the subjects were required to continue recovery at home.
The number of near falls and falls among Thai older adults in temples are quite high and very concerning. Such numbers are alarming and indicate that the elderly attending services and activities in temples require appropriate facilities and close attention from accompanying and surrounding persons. This study presented fundamental yet beneficial information which is useful for the architectural, engineering, and public health development for the elderly.
跌倒及其后果是老年人面临的严重健康问题。在泰国，寺庙是老年人常去祈祷和与他人社交的地方。然而，与寺庙内跌倒的特征和严重程度相关的研究有限。
研究寺庙中老年人跌倒（跌倒、险些跌倒和与跌倒相关的伤害）的特征以及跌倒的严重程度。
一项横断面分析研究。研究对象是呵叻府（17个区）每周至少去一次寺庙（22座寺庙）的老年人群体（60岁及以上）。通过问卷进行调查，问卷内容包括个人信息、健康状况、跌倒频率、跌倒描述、跌倒地点、跌倒时间以及跌倒后的严重程度。
通过问卷共筛选出742名成年受试者。据报告，有451人在寺庙中跌倒，占总人数的60.8%，而称有跌倒或险些跌倒经历的人数占总人数的76.1%。大多数受试者在过去一年中仅跌倒过一次，主要原因是绊倒（55%）和滑倒（28.7%）。大多数跌倒发生在户外（48.0%），而非室内（30.4%）和浴室（21.6%）。一些成年人没有任何与跌倒相关的伤害（33.5%），不过大多数人经历过肌肉疼痛（27.3%）。老年人骨折率为7.1%。共有117名受试者需要住院治疗（25.9%）。出院后，24.8%的受试者需要在家继续康复。
泰国寺庙中老年成年人险些跌倒和跌倒的数量相当高，令人十分担忧。这些数字令人警醒，表明在寺庙参加服务和活动的老年人需要适当的设施以及陪伴者和周围人的密切关注。本研究提供了基础但有益的信息，对老年人的建筑、工程和公共卫生发展具有参考价值。
