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Situation awareness of fall risks in community dwelling older adults

Posted on:2017-05-04Degree:Ph.DType:Dissertation
University:The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterCandidate:Hall, Elizabeth GoodallFull Text:PDF
GTID:1468390011493237Subject:Health education
Abstract/Summary:
The purpose of this study is to describe how community dwelling older adults (CDOAs) think about fall risk (FR) factors set within a context of daily routine. Specifically, this study describes participants' three interrelated levels of situation awareness of fall risk (SAFR): perception of FR elements, comprehension of their meaning, and projection of a fall in the presence of FRs. SAFR is described through participants' own interpretation of events that are presented in a realistic scenario of an older adult at risk for falling. The study also examines the influence of introducing the context of safety on SAFR. Exploring older adults' SAFR may provide insight for development of interventions to enhance FR awareness and stimulate personal actions to decrease risk before a fall occurs. Thirty-one CDOAs watched a video of an older woman going about daily activities. Fourteen intrinsic, extrinsic, and behavioral FRs were embedded throughout the scenario. The video was periodically frozen and blanked from view while participants answered questions about their understanding of the situation and associated story elements. Results show that even though perception of FRs was high, only about one-third of participants comprehended the FRs as posing a fall risk situation or projected that a fall might occur. When prompted to consider the situation within the context of safety, additional participants did note a fall situation. However, even with prompts about safety, there were participants who never comprehended fall risk. Thus, healthcare providers cannot assume that because older adults perceive FRs, they will comprehend the hazards imposed. From the results, it can be speculated that low SAFR may in part be related to individual mental models of FR or lack of internal goals related to safety or fall prevention.
Keywords/Search Tags:Fall risk, Older, Situation, SAFR, Awareness, Safety
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