Falls, perceived social support and fear of falls in older adults

Abstract

Introduction: Falls affect the functionality, quality of life and socio-familial relationships of older adults. Perceived social support and fear of falling because of a fall are important factors for falls syndrome and its prevention. Objective: To determine the association between previous falls and perceived social support with fear of falling in older adults. Methods: Analytic, cross-sectional and correlational study. The sample consisted of 250 participants. The instruments used were a Sociodemographic Data Form, the International Falls Efficacy Scale and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. A univariate linear regression analysis was performed to determine the relationship between fear of falling and Perceived Social Support in participants with a history of falls. Results: A significant association was found between fear of falling and ASP (p = 0,006), the dimension of perceived family support (p = 0,003) and the dimension of perceived social support from friends (p = 0,031). In the predictive analysis, previous falls and perceived support from friends were found to predict fear of falling (F [2, 248] = 17,22; p