Can Fall Risk Screening and Fall Prevention Advice in Hospital Settings Motivate Older Adult Patients to Take Action to Reduce Fall Risk?

Lotte M. Barmentloo*, Vicki Erasmus, Branko F. Olij, Juanita A. Haagsma, Johan P. Mackenbach, Christian Oudshoorn, Stephanie C.E. Schuit, Nathalie van der Velde, Suzanne Polinder

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)
38 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Objective: We investigated whether an in-hospital intervention consisting of fall risk screening and tailored advice could prompt patients to take preventive action. Method: Patients (≥70) attending the emergency department and nephrology outpatient clinic in a Dutch hospital were screened. Patients at high risk received tailored advice based on their individual risk factors. Three months after screening, preventive steps taken by patients were surveyed. Results: Two hundred sixteen patients were screened. Of the 83 patients completing a 3-month follow-up, 51.8% took action; among patients who received tailored advice (n = 20), 70% took action. Patients most often adhered to advice on improving muscle strength and undergoing vision checkups (20%). Tailored advice and a reported low quality of life were associated with consulting a health care provider. Discussion: Patients at risk in these settings are inclined to take action after screening. However, they do not always adhere to the tailored prevention advice.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1492-1501
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Applied Gerontology
Volume40
Issue number11
Early online date2 Apr 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The study was supported by “Koers 18 prevention project” by the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.

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