Recording of Falls in Elderly Fallers in Northern Greece and Evaluation of Aging Health-Related Factors and Environmental Safety Associated with Falls: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background. Elderly falls constitute a global problem with huge social and economic aspects. Fall risk factors are both intrinsic (physical and psychological) and extrinsic (related with environmental safety). Aim. To record both intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors and their correlation in elderly fallers in order to suggest specific guidelines for their medical care and environmental modification inside and outside the home. Method. The study involved 150 elderly fallers (median age 70 (67-74)), who completed a record containing information on known risk factors related to their health status, as well as information on the conditions and causes that led to the fall. Each fall was considered an independent event, while measurements were performed regarding balance, strength, their functional ability, and the fear of a possible fall. Descriptive analysis and frequency analysis were used to record the health and activity status of the participants as well as the fall-related environmental factors. Severity of each fall event across a variety of locations was examined using the Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance. Multiple linear regression was applied to examine the effect of the mean values of functional tests and medical records on the number of fall events. Results. In the span of 12 months, a total of 304 fall events were recorded. Regarding location, 77.6% occurred indoors; more frequent were the bedroom (28.6%) and the bathroom (28%). The interior stairs (10.5%), the kitchen (4.9%), and the living room (3.3%) were the less frequent locations. Concerning danger, falling on the interior stairs caused the longest hospitalization, followed by the kitchen and the bathroom. Extrinsic factors that led to both indoor and outdoor falls were the administration of psychotropic medication, poor space ergonomics, lack of basic safety standards, and poor lighting conditions. Vision problems and dizziness resulted in more falls than other intrinsic factors. Furthermore, reduced performance in the FICSIT-4 test and the 30-Second Chair Stand Test, as well as high scores in the CONFbal–GREEK questionnaire and the Short FES-I, shows a linear relationship with an increased number of falls. Conclusions. Ergonomic interventions can help prevent indoor elderly falls. Poor construction and lack of adequate lighting mainly cause outdoor falls. Regular eye examinations, management of vertigo, improvement of the balance and strength of the lower limbs, and reduction of fear of impending falls are the intrinsic factors that help prevent falls the most.

Virtual Reality Rehabilitation and Exergames—Physical and Psychological Impact on Fall Prevention among the Elderly—A Literature Review

The present review is aimed at the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) and exergames in the prevention of falls among the elderly. Falls become a significant problem in the aging population and lead to psychological, social, and physical impairment. Prevention of falls is crucial to the well-being of the elderly population and is one of the challenges of contemporary rehabilitation. Recently, in view of the threat of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, contactless methods of rehabilitation, including telerehabilitation, appear as valuable rehabilitation tools. This review is based on the PRISMA guidelines and was carried out in five databases: PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, and PEDro. Twenty-one randomized controlled trials, focused on the application of VR and exergames in the prevention of falls, were included. This review suggests that VR training in rehabilitation appears to be a promising complement to traditional techniques of physiotherapy to improve specific physical outcomes. VR and exergames could be considered as a complement of standard physiotherapy and its possible continuation at home for elderly. However, further high-quality studies, with carefully designed protocols and proper blinding, are needed.

Comprehensive Review of Vision-Based Fall Detection Systems

Vision-based fall detection systems have experienced fast development over the last years. To determine the course of its evolution and help new researchers, the main audience of this paper, a comprehensive revision of all published articles in the main scientific databases regarding this area during the last five years has been made. After a selection process, detailed in the Materials and Methods Section, eighty-one systems were thoroughly reviewed. Their characterization and classification techniques were analyzed and categorized. Their performance data were also studied, and comparisons were made to determine which classifying methods best work in this field. The evolution of artificial vision technology, very positively influenced by the incorporation of artificial neural networks, has allowed fall characterization to become more resistant to noise resultant from illumination phenomena or occlusion. The classification has also taken advantage of these networks, and the field starts using robots to make these systems mobile. However, datasets used to train them lack real-world data, raising doubts about their performances facing real elderly falls. In addition, there is no evidence of strong connections between the elderly and the communities of researchers.

Environmental risks for falls of elderly attended by the Family Health Strategy team

Objective: to analyze the environmental risk for falls among the elderly living in the area covered by a Family Health Strategy team. Methods: cross-sectional research, using, as a data source, 80 forms of environmental risk evaluation of elderly falls. The collected data were transcribed and organized in a computerized spreadsheet, using the Microsoft Excel® program, and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: most elderly’s households were classified as low risk for falls (56.3%) and showed at least one environmental risk (94.0%), being the most frequently found in the bathroom (47.5%), in stairs (46.2%), and associated to light (41.2%). Conclusion: environmental risks were observed in different places of the households, highlighting the bathroom, stairs, and little light in the room, most of them being classified as a low environmental risk for falls.

A cross sectional study on the prevalence and risk factors of fall among the elderly in an urban area of Chidambaram

Background: In India, the elderly people constitute 8.6% of the total population. Fall is a major cause of injuries and can increase the risk of early mortality among elderly. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of falls among elderly and its associated risk factors.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among elderly population over 60 years and above, in an urban area. About 115 elderly were selected using convenient sampling method. A predesigned semi structured questionnaire was administered to collect information about falls. In statistical analysis, descriptive statistics and chi square test was employed using SPSS version 21.3.Results: The prevalence of fall in the past 12 months was found to be 27%. Among these, 77.4% of the participants had single fall and 22.6% had two episodes of falls. The majority (84.2%) of falls occurred indoors, 60.5% falls occurred during morning hours. Half of the participants had reported the reasons for falls as slippery floor (55.6%). Age was found to be significantly associated with falls.Conclusions: Falls are very common among elderly. Identification of factors significantly affecting elderly falls can help in planning public health policies and programs for prevention of falls.