Item – Theses Canada

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OCLC number
1017526915
Author
Topping, Angela U.(Angela Uldall),1969-
Title
Psychosocial and environmental factors associated with falling in community-dwelling elderly females.
Degree
M. Sc. -- Queen's University, 1994
Publisher
Ottawa : National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1995.
Description
3 microfiches
Notes
Includes bibliographical references.
Abstract
Research over the past two decades has consistently found that 30 percent of community-dwelling elderly experience a fall every year. Only cursory attention has been given to the psychosocial factors associated with falling. The main objective of this feasibility study was to determine whether instruments measuring fear of falling, activity level, social support and physical environment were reliable, and could differentiate between fallers and non-fallers in a sample of community-dwelling elderly females. A retrospective, ex post facto study design was used with a convenience sample of 49 elderly women (13 fallers; x age = 76 and 36 non-fallers; x age = 72) recruited from the Kingston, Ontario area. Structured interviews were conducted in the subjects' own homes using the: Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC), Social and Physical Activity Scale (SAPALS), Adapted Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (AISEL), Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire (NSSQ), and the Home Hazard Assessment (HHA). The ABC, SAPALS, AISEL and NSSQ were shown to be reliable with a few minor exceptions in the AISEL. Although numerous individual items on these scales showed a statistically significant difference between fallers and non-fallers, only subscale differences on the ABC (p = 0.0001) and the SAPALS Household Duties Subscale (p = 0.003) were significant. Recommendations for changes in methodology and study design for a large scale study are discussed along with suggestions for future research in the area of social support and fear of falling.
ISBN
0315955791
9780315955790