Effects of a Fall Prevention Educational Program on Fall Risk of Community Elderly

Thursday, 15 July 2010

Yu-Ling Hsiao, MSN, RN
Ching-Min Chen, DNS
Chia-Chi Chang, PhD, RN
School of Geriatric Nursing and Care Management, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan

Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to understand the effects of a fall prevention educational program

Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to apply the fall prevention educational program in the community setting

Purpose: The purposes of this study tested the effects of a fall prevention educational program on fall risk of community elderly.

Methods: 192 community elderly participated in the fall prevention educational program. The fall prevention educational program contained 12 weeks classroom lecture and exercise lessons.

Results: The results showed that participants had better waist buttocks ratio, waist, gait and balance after complete the fall prevention educational program. In addition, participants had greater scores of Falls Efficacy Scale, greater positive attitude of fall prevention, and better behavior of fall prevention.

Conclusion: In conclusion, the fall prevention educational program can reduce the fall risk of community elderly and should be promote in the future.