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Estudo da presença de fatores de riscos intrínsecos para quedas, em idosos institucionalizados

2008; ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE SAÚDE COLETIVA; Volume: 13; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1590/s1413-81232008000400017

1678-4561

Ruth Losada de Menezes, Maria Márcia Bachion,

Health, Nursing, Elderly Care

The objective of this research was to identify intrinsic risk factors that predispose elderly people living in long-term institutions in the city of Goiânia (GO) to falls. The present descriptive transversal study was carried out in six long-term institutions for seniors in the city of Goiânia. The investigated sample consisted of 95 elderly that fitted the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A questionnaire was used for collecting clinical data related to health-disease conditions; cognitive data; capacity to develop basic daily life activities and equilibrium and gait. In general terms, as pointed out the literature, the examined elderly presented different fall risk factors such as: motor difficulty in lower limbs (90%), visual deficit (81,1%), use of 3 or more kinds of medicines (59,7%), suspected depression (37,9%), lack of equilibrium/unstable unipodal support (37,9%) abnormally decreased height in step (32,6%). The obtained data allow us to set indicators for the increase in falls among the studied sample, demonstrating the need for creating strategies for health promotion, prevention of injuries and rehabilitation.