Prevalence of falls in frail elderly users of ambulatory assistive devices: a comparative study

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to verify the prevalence of falls in frail users of ambulatory assistive devices (AAD) and compare with controls.

Materials and methods: Nineteen frail elderly users of AAD (G1) and 31 non-users (G2) participated in the study. The occurrence of falls, at the last 6 months, was collected by an interview with the patient and the caregiver. Cognitive status was assessed by the Mini Mental State Examination, functional capacity by the Pfeffer’s Questionnaire and Modified Barthel’s Index, the frail level by a functional stratification and the risk of falls by the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. T-Student test was used to compare independent variables. The significance level was set at 5%.

Results: Both groups G1 and G2 were homogeneous in relation to the functional and sociodemographic variables. G1 reported more falls in the last 6 months, but most of the participants did not use AAD at the time of the fall. Transferences were the main reason for falls in G1 and stumble in the street in G2.

Conclusion: Elderly users of AAD fall out when they are not using the walk device.

• IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION

• Falling is the second leading cause of death from unintentional injuries in the world. Fall prevention programmes prescribe ambulatory assistive devices, such as walking sticks, crutches and walkers device and walking training with a physiotherapist to provide independence, safety, satisfaction, adherence and psychosocial benefits. However, studies have showed a higher prevalence of falls in frail elderly users of ambulatory-assistive devices.

• In our study, we verified if users of the ambulatory-assistive devices were using it at the moment of the fall. We found that frail elderly fall down when they are not using the walk device during their activities of day living. Thus, education strategies should be developed to encourage the use of ambulatory-assistive devices by the frail elderly previously evaluated by physiotherapists. Prevalence of falls in this population could reduce if frail elderly users of ambulatory assistive devices really use it during the activities of daily living.