Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Dr Steve Parry, Claire BamfordORCiD, Dr Tracy Finch, Neil Sabin, Dr Ian Steen, Emerita Professor Elaine McCollORCiD
Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.
Falls are common, frequently devastating events in older people, with between 30% and 62% of older individuals falling per year.(1,2) Falls are responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality, with around 10% of falls resulting in fractures.(3) The economic costs of falls are considerable; as long ago as 2003, the cost of falls to the UK economy was estimated at 981M pound,(4) with more recent data showing that 0.07-0.20 of the gross domestic product and 0.85-1.5% of total health-care expenditure in Western economies was accounted for by falls and their consequences.(5) Adverse consequences of falls are by no means limited to physical injury and escalating levels of dependence. Many older individuals, both fallers and non-fallers, suffer from a variety of adverse psychosocial difficulties related to falling,(6-16) including fear, anxiety, loss of confidence and impaired self-efficacy (the self-perception of ability to perform within a particular domain of activities),(10,13) resulting in activity avoidance, social isolation and increasing frailty.(6-16) The umbrella term for these problems is 'fear of falling', a common and disabling problem in older individuals, found in between 3% and 85% of community-dwelling elders who fall, and up to 50% of those who have never fallen.(8-10, 16)
Author(s): Parry SW, Bamford C, Deary V, Finch TL, Gray J, MacDonald C, McMeekin P, Sabin NJ, Steen IN, Whitney SL, McColl EM
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Health Technology Assessment
Year: 2016
Volume: 20
Issue: 56
Pages: 1-206
Print publication date: 01/08/2016
Online publication date: 01/08/2016
Acceptance date: 01/11/2015
ISSN (print): 1366-5278
ISSN (electronic): 2046-4924
Publisher: NIHR Journals Library
URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.3310/hta20560
DOI: 10.3310/hta20560
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric
