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.
Keywords
Authors
How to Cite
Download Citation
License
Copyright © 2024 The Author(s)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License By-NC-ND 4.0 that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access ).
Similar Articles
- Lavanya J Raj, SwarnaKumari Pitchai, The Development of a New Quality of Life Questionnaire for Children with Hearing Loss - The Impact of Hearing Loss on Children (IHL-C): Field Testing and Psychometric Evaluation , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 26 No. 1 (2015): Spring 2015
- Ashok Kumar Sar, The Dynamics of Social Inclusion of People with Spinal Cord Injury , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 33 No. 1: (Spring) - 2022
- The Maria Meiwati Widagdo, Yunita Rappun, Aprilia Vetricia Gandrung, Edy Wibowo, Impact of Visual Impairment and Correction on Vision-Related Quality of Life: Comparing People with Different Levels of Visual Acuity in Indonesia , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 31 No. 4 (2020): Winter
- Nizar Abdul Majeed Kutty, Dinuraj Ramakrishna Pillai, Impact of Exercise Training on Depression among People with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Narrative Review , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 30 No. 3 (2019): Autumn 2019
- Ka Man Leung, William Chu, Ming-Yu Wong, People with Physical Disabilities playing Light Volleyball: A Qualitative Study in Hong Kong , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 31 No. 3 (2020): Autumn
- Tiun Ling Ta, Lee Lay Wah, Khoo Suet Leng, Employability of People with Disabilities in the Northern States of Peninsular Malaysia: Employers’ Perspective , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 22 No. 2 (2011): Autumn
- N. Krishna Reddy, Mysore Narasimha Vranda, Efficacy of Family Intervention in Acquired Head-Injury Cases in India , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 23 No. 3 (2012): Autumn
- Masateru Higashida, M R Shantha Kumara, Yuko Nakashima, Educational Opportunity, Post-School Life and CBR: A Multisectoral Approach in Rural Sri Lanka , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 27 No. 1 (2016): Spring 2016
- Mst. Reshma Parvin Nuri, Md. Tohidul Hoque, Md. Mustafa Kamal Akand, Samuel M Waldron, Impact Assessment of a Vocational Training Program for Persons with Disabilities in Bangladesh , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 23 No. 3 (2012): Autumn
- Jo Durham, Vanphanom Sychareun, Phonevilay Santisouk, Kongmany Chaleunvong, Users’ Satisfaction with Prosthetic and Orthotic Assistive Devices in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic: A Cross-sectional Study , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 27 No. 3 (2016): Autumn 2016
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
Most read articles by the same author(s)
- Binoy Mathew K V, Mary Elizabeth Tidiya Walarine, Technology-Assisted Early Disability Identification and Monitoring in Children: A Model for Middle- and Low Income Countries , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 34 No. 3 (2023): Autumn Issue 2023