Mudholkar Asmita, Burke Stephanie, Obamiro Kehinde
Central Queensland Centre for Rural and Remote Health, James Cook University Emerald, Queensland, Australia.
School of Health, The University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Australia.
Aust J Rural Health. 2025 Feb;33(1):e13221. doi: 10.1111/ajr.13221.
A third of community-dwelling adults over the age of 65 years fall each year, making falls a significant concern for the elderly. Older people living in community-dwellings account for 73% of fall-related hospitalisations in older populations. Little is known about identifying, reaching at-risk people, and delivering these interventions in rural communities.
Our aim was two-fold. To test the utility of a student-led program in identifying community-dwelling elderly people at high risk for falls in a rural and remote setting. To determine client satisfaction with the falls prevention program.
Rural and remote community settings in Queensland, Australia.
Forty community-dwelling older adults from the MMM 4 and 6 regions.
This pilot study utilised a cross-sectional design and convenience sampling approach. A validated falls risk self-reported checklist and a screening checklist for general practitioners were used to identify older adults at risk of falling. During the home visit, participants were assessed for their cognition, balance and home safety. A client satisfaction survey was completed via telephone 3 months following the home visits.
Several risk factors for falls were identified, including unsafe use of equipment, absence of Medi alerts, insufficient supervision, lack of support, inappropriate footwear, behavioural concerns and environmental hazards. Most participants reported that the home assessment was valuable and made their homes safer.
An innovative student-led placement model has the potential to provide much-needed access to falls prevention services and minimise falls among community-dwelling older adults in rural and remote locations.
65岁以上居住在社区的成年人中，每年有三分之一的人会跌倒，这使得跌倒成为老年人的一个重大担忧。居住在社区的老年人占老年人群中与跌倒相关住院病例的73%。对于在农村社区识别、接触高危人群并提供这些干预措施，我们知之甚少。
我们的目标有两个。一是测试一项由学生主导的项目在农村和偏远地区识别社区居住的跌倒高危老年人方面的效用。二是确定客户对跌倒预防项目的满意度。
澳大利亚昆士兰州的农村和偏远社区。
来自MMM 4和6地区的40名社区居住的老年人。
这项试点研究采用横断面设计和便利抽样方法。使用经过验证的跌倒风险自我报告清单和全科医生筛查清单来识别有跌倒风险的老年人。在家庭访视期间，对参与者的认知、平衡和家庭安全进行评估。家庭访视3个月后通过电话完成客户满意度调查。
确定了几个跌倒风险因素，包括设备使用不安全、没有医疗警报、监督不足、缺乏支持、鞋类不合适、行为问题和环境危害。大多数参与者报告说家庭评估很有价值，使他们的家更安全。
一种创新的由学生主导的实习模式有可能为农村和偏远地区社区居住的老年人提供急需的跌倒预防服务，并将跌倒风险降至最低。
