The perspectives of healthcare practitioners on fall risk factors in older adults

Health SA Gesondheid

 
 
Field Value
 
Title The perspectives of healthcare practitioners on fall risk factors in older adults
 
Creator de Clercq, Hendrika Naude, Alida Bornman, Juan
 
Subject — disability and health; falls; fall risk; focus groups; ICF; International Classification of Functioning; healthcare practitioners
Description Background: Accidental falls could have severe and far-reaching consequences for older adults, their families and society at large. Healthcare practitioners’ (HCPs) perspectives on fall risk factors in older adults could assist in reducing and even preventing falls. Currently, no universal tool exists for this purpose. The World Health Organization’s globally accepted International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) was used.Aim: This study aimed to (1) describe the perspectives of HCPs on fall risk factors in older adults in South Africa and (2) link these factors to the ICF.Setting: Eighteen HCPs participated in two focus groups.Methods: Using a qualitative research design, an inductive thematic analysis allowed for the identification of important themes, which were linked to the ICF.Results: The factors mentioned by participants were categorised into 38 themes, which were linked to 142 ICF codes, of which 43% (n = 61) were linked to the Body Function category, 23% (n = 32) to the Environmental Factors category, 18% (n = 26) to the Body Structure category and 16% (n = 23) to the Activities and Participation category. HCPs revealed two relevant factors that were not captured in existing fall risk assessment tools (FRATs), namely ‘muscle-power functions’ and ‘mobility-of-joint functions’, which directly relate to the ability to execute mobility activities. Combining HCPs’ perspectives with other stakeholders and with literature provides a holistic picture of fall risk factors in older adults.
 
Publisher AOSIS Publishing
 
Contributor National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, in collaboration with the South African Humanities Deans Association (SAHUDA)
Date 2020-12-04
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Focus groups
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/hsag.v25i0.1495
 
Source Health SA Gesondheid; Vol 25 (2020); 9 pages 2071-9736 1025-9848
 
Language eng
 
Relation
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https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/article/view/1495/html https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/article/view/1495/epub https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/article/view/1495/xml https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/article/view/1495/pdf
 
Coverage South Africa 2019 —
Rights Copyright (c) 2020 Hendrika de Clercq, Alida Naude, Juan Bornman https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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