Comparing the risk of falls between rural and urban elderly

Authors

  • Guilherme Tavares de Arruda Universidade Federal de Santa Maria Author
  • Cyntia Scher Strelow Universidade Federal de Santa Maria Author
  • Áureo Júnior Weschenfelder Universidade Federal de Santa Maria Author
  • Michele Adriane Froelich Universidade Federal de Santa Maria Author
  • Hedioneia Maria Foletto Pivetta Universidade Federal de Santa Maria Author
  • Melissa Medeiros Braz Universidade Federal de Santa Maria Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4025/actascihealthsci.v40i1.33449

Keywords:

elderly, accidental falls, rural zone, urban zone.

Abstract

 

The aim of this study was to compare the risk of falls and characterize them in the urban and rural elderly. Observational study with elderly from urban and rural areas in the interior of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, evaluated by the Fall Risk Score and further criteria for the evaluation and characterization of the last fall within 12 months. A total of 125 elderly, 89 urban and 36 rural was evaluated. There was a high prevalence of medication use (93.6%), impaired vision (35.2%) and previous falls (81.6%) in the total sample of individuals as well as the risk of falls (76.8%) without differences between the groups. The variables of statistical significance were impaired hearing (p = 0.009) and impairment of the lower limbs (p = 0.04). Both the elderly living in rural areas and in urban areas showed high risk for falls in the group studied, with no significant difference between them. Thus, it is worth highlighting the importance of making a health work for guidance on falls.

 

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Author Biographies

  • Guilherme Tavares de Arruda, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
    Acadêmico do Curso de Fisioterapia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Curso de Fisioterapia (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS.
  • Cyntia Scher Strelow, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
    Acadêmico do Curso de Fisioterapia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Curso de Fisioterapia (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS.
  • Áureo Júnior Weschenfelder, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
    Acadêmico do Curso de Fisioterapia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Curso de Fisioterapia (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS.
  • Michele Adriane Froelich, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
    Acadêmico do Curso de Fisioterapia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Curso de Fisioterapia (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS.
  • Hedioneia Maria Foletto Pivetta, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
    Professora Adjunta do Departamento de Fisioterapia e Reabilitação, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS.
  • Melissa Medeiros Braz, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
    Professora Adjunta do Departamento de Fisioterapia e Reabilitação, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS.

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Published

2018-11-30

Issue

Section

Health Sciences

How to Cite

Arruda, G. T. de, Strelow, C. S., Weschenfelder, Áureo J., Froelich, M. A., Pivetta, H. M. F., & Braz, M. M. (2018). Comparing the risk of falls between rural and urban elderly. Acta Scientiarum. Health Sciences, 40(1), e33449. https://doi.org/10.4025/actascihealthsci.v40i1.33449

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