A Study to Assess the Prevalence, Perceived Cause, Environmental Factors and Injuries Related to fall among Elderly People in Selected Community of District Patiala, Punjab

Background Ageing is the natural process. Sixty years and above age group of people is called as ?Geriatric age group'. Falls is one of the major problems in the elderly. Objective The main aim of the study was to assess the prevalence, perceived cause, environmental factors and injuries related to falls among elderly people. Results One third of elderly people (33%) belonged to ? 75 years and one fourth (25%) belonged to 60-64 years. It was found that mean score of perceived cause related to falls among elderly people was 22?10.094 falls. It was concluded that maximum of elderly people always perceived cause of falls. Conclusion There was a high prevalence of falls among elderly people. The highest perceived cause related to falls were accident (slipped), collapse episode (vehicle collision, memory loss), ambulation (walking) and the highest environmental factors related to falls were surface (wet surface, slippery surface, uneven surface) and bathroom area slippery. Majority of elderly people encountered injuries and had fracture as a injury related to falls and also underwent treatment for injuries.