Gamage Nirmala, Rathnayake Nirmala, Alwis Gayani
Department of Nursing, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, University of Ruhuna, Galle, Sri Lanka.
Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ruhuna, Galle, Sri Lanka.
Curr Gerontol Geriatr Res. 2018 May 29;2018:7653469. doi: 10.1155/2018/7653469. eCollection 2018.
The knowledge and perception of falls facilitate a better pathway to improve the health status among the elderly. Knowledge and perception of falls among community dwelling elderly were assessed in 300 participants (175 females) aged 65 years and above using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Mean (SD) age of the participants was 73.0 (6.7) years. Majority (72%) knew some biological factors, and 60% knew environmental and behavioral factors which increase the risk of falls. Among 300 participants, 18% had poor, 61% had average, and 21% had good knowledge on falls. The mean (SD) knowledge was 48.14 (19.13). The most frequent (49%) information source was television. Significant associations were found between age ( = 0.002) and educational status ( < 0.001) with level of knowledge regarding falls. Individuals, 25.4% with good knowledge, 32.2% with average knowledge, and 51.9% with poor knowledge, had experienced falls during the previous 12 months ( = 0.007). Regarding perception of falls, 20.3% ( = 61) had negative perception and 79.7% ( = 239) had positive perception. Significant associations were found between gender ( = 0.01), age ( = 0.04), and level of education ( < 0.001) with perception of falls. This study revealed that the community dwelling elders had average knowledge and positive perception regarding falls and preventive measures, emphasizing the importance of falls prevention awareness programs.
对跌倒的认知有助于为改善老年人健康状况提供更好的途径。采用访谈式问卷对300名65岁及以上的社区居住老年人（175名女性）进行了跌倒知识和认知情况评估。参与者的平均（标准差）年龄为73.0（6.7）岁。大多数（72%）知道一些生物因素，60%知道增加跌倒风险的环境和行为因素。在300名参与者中，18%对跌倒的知识掌握较差，61%掌握一般，21%掌握良好。平均（标准差）知识得分为48.14（19.13）。最常见（49%）的信息来源是电视。发现年龄（P = 0.002）和教育程度（P < 0.001）与跌倒知识水平之间存在显著关联。在过去12个月中，知识掌握良好的个体中有25.4%、掌握一般的有32.2%、掌握较差的有51.9%经历过跌倒（P = 0.007）。关于对跌倒的认知，20.3%（n = 61）有负面认知，79.7%（n = 239）有正面认知。发现性别（P = 0.01）、年龄（P = 0.04）和教育程度（P < 0.001）与对跌倒的认知之间存在显著关联。本研究表明，社区居住的老年人对跌倒及其预防措施有一般的知识和正面的认知，强调了跌倒预防意识项目的重要性。
