Everyday Experiences of Physical Function and Awareness of Fall Risk in Older Adulthood

Abstract Background and Objectives Falls, the leading cause of death and disability among older adults, occur in daily life when the demands of daily activities surpass the ability to maintain balance. An estimated 30% of older adults misestimate their physical function, placing them at greater risk...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Innovation in aging 2023, Vol.7 (4), p.igad037
Main Authors: Mejía, Shannon T, Su, Tai-Te, Washington, Faith C, Golinski, Sean, Sosnoff, Jacob J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Falls (Accidents)
Health aspects
Original
Psychological aspects
Risk factors
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Background and Objectives Falls, the leading cause of death and disability among older adults, occur in daily life when the demands of daily activities surpass the ability to maintain balance. An estimated 30% of older adults misestimate their physical function, placing them at greater risk of falling. This study examined how experiences of physical function are linked to awareness of fall risk in daily life. Research Design and Methods For 30 consecutive days following a fall-risk assessment, 41 older adults (observations = 1,135; 56% women; age: 65–91) self-assessed objective and subjective fall risk using a custom smartphone application. Alignment of objective and subjective fall risk was indexed as awareness of fall risk. Postural sway was measured by the application. Physical and mobility symptoms and fear of falling were reported daily. Results At baseline, 49% of participants misestimated their fall risk. Awareness of fall risk varied from day to day and fall risk was misestimated on 40% of days. Multilevel multinomial models showed individual differences in the level of daily symptoms to increase the tendency to misestimate fall risk. Daily symptoms and fear of falling increased awareness of high fall risk, but daily symptoms threatened awareness of low fall risk. Discussion and Implications Findings suggest that misestimation of fall risk is common in older adulthood and informed by appraisals of physical function. Fall prevention strategies could support older adults in understanding their everyday physical function and provide tools to adjust the demands of activities in daily life.
ISSN:2399-5300
2399-5300
DOI:10.1093/geroni/igad037