@2024 Afarand., IRAN

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ISSN: 2383-2150    Journal of Education and Community Health 2020;7(3):145-151

Background
Falls are one of the most common health problems for persons over 60 years old. The elderly person will suffer from physical, mental-psychological, and social problems after falling.
Previous Studies
… [1-9]. The results of the study by Jafarian Amiri et al. showed that the frequency of falls of the elderly in homes is relatively high and inadequate preventive measures have been taken. Regarding the occurrence of falls, the most (24.9%) cases of falls occur on stairs with a lack of rods or handles as the most important reason (18.6%) [10]. In other relevant studies, stairs were introduced as the most common place for falling [11]. … [12-24].
Aim(s)
The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of educational intervention on fear of falling in the elderly in Ahvaz.
Research type
This study was a randomized controlled clinical trial.
Research society, place and time
This study was conducted on 80 elderly covered by health centers of Ahvaz in 2018.
Sampling method and number
According to the similar study by Behzad et al. [23], considering the minimum effect size of 0.4, 95% confidence level, and 90% test power, the design effect (DE) was 1.05, and regarding the possible attrition of 10%, 80 elderly were considered as the sample size.
Used devices&materials
The data collection tool was a three-part questionnaire; the first part assessed demographic information, including age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, level of education, history of chronic disease, income level, occupation, using aiding devices, difficulty in walking, and falling over the past year. The second part considered the elderly's awareness of prevention from fall risk, which included 11 items. The items of this section were extracted and designed by reviewing similar studies, available texts, and educational packages. The third part was the Fall Efficacy Scale International (FES-I), which its validity and reliability were examined in the Khajavi study, and its internal coherence and temporal stability were reported with Cronbach's alpha of 0.98 and 0.7, respectively [25]. … [26, 27]. The pre-test was performed by completing an anonymous coded questionnaire for both intervention and control groups by the researcher. The pre-test phase lasted about a month. After the pre-test, the educational intervention was performed, which was a combination of in-person training (individual and group training) and online training (sending educational text messages) methods. The Wilcoxon nonparametric test was used to compare the research variables before and after the intervention in each group and the Mann-Whitney nonparametric test was used to compare the two groups in the pre- and post-intervention stages. Univariate analysis of covariance was used to evaluate the effect of educational intervention by adjusting the effect of the pre-intervention stage or other tests as needed. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 22 software.
Findings by Text
The mean age in the intervention and control groups was 68.17 ±6.62 and 65.40 ±5.55 years, respectively, and there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of age (p> 0.05). There was also no significant difference between the two groups in terms of marital status, occupation, income status, habit, history of chronic disease, use of aiding devices, difficulty in walking, and falling in the last year (p> 0.05). However, there was a significant difference between the intervention and control groups in terms of gender, education, and ethnicity (p <0.05; Table 1).The mean score of awareness in the intervention group compared with the control group after the intervention with adjusting the destructive effect of other variables showed a statistically significant increase (F = 425.3; p <0.001). There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of awareness scores after the intervention. Also, the mean intra-group score was significant for the intervention and control groups (Table 2).The mean score of fear of falling in the intervention group compared with the control group after the intervention by adjusting the destructive effect of other variables showed a statistically significant decrease (F = 140.9; p <0.001). There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of fear of falling before the intervention, but there was a significant difference after the intervention. Regarding the comparison of the mean scores, the mean intra-group score was significantly different in the intervention group before and after the intervention; however, it was not found in the control group (Table 3).
Main comparison to the similar studies
… [28, 29]. The results of the study by Mozaffari et al. also showed that the fall care behaviors training led to a significant reduction in the score of fear of falling among the participants in the intervention group compared with the control group [30]. Also, the results of a study by Najafi et al. showed that education through video and show led to a significant reduction in fear of falling among the elderly in the intervention group [31]. The results of these studies indicate the positive effect of educational interventions using different educational methods on the fear of falling of the elderly. … [32, 33].
Suggestions
It is suggested that studies be conducted to investigate the effect of educational intervention on falls and safety behaviors monitored by the evaluator and the effect of educational intervention on falls in the elderly living in rural areas.
Limitations
One of the limitations of the study was that participants may not be representative of the total population, because all participants were urban residents and those living in rural areas were not considered.
Conclusions
By implementing educational programs, the fear of falling in the elderly is reduced, which can lead to improving their efficiency and quality of life.
Acknowledgments
All participants who sincerely cooperated in the implementation of this research, especially Dr. Mehdi Mojaddam, are appreciated and thanked.
Conflict of interest
None to declare.
Ethical Permissions
Ethical considerations observed in this study included obtaining an ethics code from the Vice-Chancellor for Research of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (ethics code: IR.AJUMS.REC.1397.339).
Funding Sources
The present study is part of the thesis approved by the Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences.

TABLES and CHARTS

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