Risk of falls in the older adult at Thai Binh Medical University Hospital and its related factors in 2024.

BACKGROUND

Falls represent a significant health threat to the older adult, often leading to severe disability and a decline in functional independence. Effective strategies for early prediction and detection are therefore essential to ensure the health and safety of older adults. This study aims to evaluate the proportion of fall risk and some factors related to fall risk of the older adult living at the Examination Department, Thai Binh University of Medicine Hospital.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 404 older adults who presented as outpatients at Thai Binh Medical University Hospital between October 2023 and June 2024. Data were collected via direct interviews using the Vietnamese-translated STEADI-CDC Fall Risk Questionnaire (FRQ). A decision tree model was employed to identify the most significant predictive factors for fall risk.

RESULTS

Among the 404 older adults participating in the study, the risk of falling was 19.6%. The average FRQ score was 11.0 ± 2.7 points. Similarly, older adults with osteoarthritis had a risk of falling of 18.3%, while in the group without osteoarthritis, it was 5.6%. Decision tree analysis revealed two important factors that increased the risk of falling: a history of previous falls and osteoarthritis status.

CONCLUSION

A history of previous falls and the presence of bone and joint disease are critical predictive factors for fall risk in this older adult outpatient population. These findings suggest a simplified, two-question screening approach could be effectively implemented in clinical practice to identify high-risk individuals for targeted preventive interventions.