New Horizons in Addressing Fear of Falling among Elderly: A Narrative Review
Abstract
Aim: The elderly segment of the population is increasing in most of the countries across the world. Fear of falling is experienced by a sizeable percentage of the elderly. Hence the authors, reviewed the current literature on fear of falling, evaluation and management of it.
Methods: Extensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, Science Direct, Ovid databases with keywords, Fear of Falling, Fall Fear, Fall Efficacy, Elderly, Senior, Older, and Elders in various combinations. The search was restricted to articles published between 2016 to 2021 in English language.
Results Out of 478 articles retrieved only 46 met the inclusion criteria and were included in the current review. The abstracts were reviewed initially and the full text of the studies which met the inclusion criteria were used for the preparation of the review.
Conclusions: Fear of falling is reported up to 65% among non-fallers and 92% fallers among elderly. Fear of falling arises due to various bio-psycho-social factors. Tools measuring fear of falling are classified into those measuring fear of falling and those measuring fall efficacy. The 2 main management strategies are physical interventions and psychological interventions. Combination of physical and psychological interventions are more effective in fear of falling management.
Limitations: Only articles published in English were considered.
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