Risk of falls displayed by elderly patients cared for by a geriatric outpatient clinic

Authors

  • Maria das Graças Melo Fernandes Federal University of Paraíba image/svg+xml
  • Keylla Talitha Fernandes Barbosa Federal University of Paraíba image/svg+xml
  • Fabiana Maria Rodrigues Lopes de Oliveira Federal University of Paraíba image/svg+xml
  • Mayara Muniz Dias Rodrigues Federal University of Paraíba image/svg+xml
  • Kamyla Félix Oliveira dos Santos Federal University of Paraíba image/svg+xml

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5216/ree.v16i2.20542

Keywords:

Aged, Risk Factors, Geriatric Nursing.

Abstract

This study aims to identify risk factors for falls among elderly patients cared for at an outpatient clinic and the association between such factors. It is a cross-sectional study with 120 elderly patients. Data was collected using an instrument which contained a sociodemographic and clinical evaluation and the FallRisk Score (FR). The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the chi-squared test. Results demonstrate that the occurrence of falls was elevated in: 73.4% of women; 61.2% of sedentary patients; 60.8% of those between 60 and 69 years of age; 55.8% of hypertensive patients and 41.22% of those taking one or two medications. Considering this information, we recommend that there be a reflection, especially from health services, on basic care regarding prevention and early identification of risk factors for falls, in order to minimize their elevated prevalence among elderly patients cared for at the outpatient clinic level.

 

doi: 10.5216/ree.v16i2.20542.

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Author Biographies

  • Maria das Graças Melo Fernandes, Federal University of Paraíba
    Enfermeira, Doutora em Ciências da Saúde. Professora Associada da Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB). João Pessoa, PB, Brasil. E-mail: graacafernandes@hotmail.com.
  • Keylla Talitha Fernandes Barbosa, Federal University of Paraíba
    Enfermeira. Discente do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Enfermagem (PPGEnf), nível Mestrado, da UFPB. João Pessoa, PB, Brasil. E-mail: keyllafernandes@gmail.com.
  • Fabiana Maria Rodrigues Lopes de Oliveira, Federal University of Paraíba
    Enfermeira. Discente do PPGEnf/UFPB, nível Mestrado. João Pessoa, PB, Brasil. E-mail: fabianarodriguesenf@yahoo.com.br.
  • Mayara Muniz Dias Rodrigues, Federal University of Paraíba
    Acadêmica do curso de graduação em Enfermagem da UFPB. João Pessoa, PB, Brasil. E-mail: mayara_muniz_@hotmail.com.
  • Kamyla Félix Oliveira dos Santos, Federal University of Paraíba
    Enfermeira, Mestre em Enfermagem. Discente do PPGEnf/UFPB, nível Doutorado. João Pessoa, PB, Brasil. E-mail: kamylaoliveira@hotmail.com.

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Published

2014-06-30

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 2 (2014)

Section

Original Article