Department of Population Health, University of Otago Christchurch, Christchurch 8013, New Zealand.
Centre of Excellence: Sustainable Tourism, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Feb 14;17(4):1224. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17041224.
Falls can have serious impacts on the health, wellbeing and daily mobilities of older adults. Falls are a leading cause of injury and death amongst older adults and outdoor falls comprise a substantial proportion of pedestrian injuries. As well as physical injuries, the psychological impacts of experiencing a fall can result in older adults getting out of the house less often, resulting in lower levels of physical activity and social connection. Despite the known consequences of falls, relatively little research considers the impact of the urban built environment on falls among older adults. This research aimed to explore the experiences of older adults in the urban environment, falling and the fear of falling outdoors. We conducted an online survey with adults aged 50+ using a participatory mapping survey tool and a convenience sample. The study area was Greater Christchurch, New Zealand. Results suggest that both perceived accessibility and neighbourhood conditions are independently associated with fear of falling, after controlling for frequency of falling, gender and activities of daily living. Our findings demonstrate the need for much better understandings of the relationships between the urban environment, outdoor mobility, fear of falling and falling among older adults and we propose suggestions for future research.
跌倒可能对老年人的健康、福祉和日常活动能力造成严重影响。跌倒是老年人受伤和死亡的主要原因，而户外跌倒构成了行人受伤的很大一部分。除了身体伤害外，经历跌倒的心理影响可能导致老年人出门的频率降低，导致身体活动和社交联系水平下降。尽管跌倒的后果众所周知，但相对较少的研究考虑城市建成环境对老年人跌倒的影响。本研究旨在探索老年人在城市环境中的体验、跌倒和对户外跌倒的恐惧。我们使用参与式地图调查工具和便利样本对 50 岁以上的成年人进行了在线调查。研究区域是新西兰克赖斯特彻奇大区。结果表明，在控制跌倒频率、性别和日常生活活动后，感知可达性和邻里条件与跌倒恐惧均独立相关。我们的研究结果表明，需要更好地了解城市环境、户外出行能力、跌倒恐惧和老年人跌倒之间的关系，我们提出了未来研究的建议。
