Relationship between fall risks and activities of daily living in older individuals

Objective: To investigate the relationship between fall risks and maintaining activities of daily living in individuals aged 65 and over.Methods: This study is cross-sectional. It was conducted with 233 individuals who were aged 65 and over in Family Health Centers located in the eastern part of Turkey between February and June 2018.Results: The mean older individuals' DENN Fall Risks Assessment Scale score was 11.73 ± 7.13, and 62.2% of the participants were in the high-risk group. Barthel Index of Activities of Daily Living(ADL) mean score was 68.03 ± 25.36, and 45.1% of the participants were in the moderately dependent group. There was a statistically significant, negative correlationship between Barthel Index of ADL score and age and DENN Fall Risks Assessment Scale score. In addition, there was a statistically significant, positive relationship between the DENN Fall Risks Assessment Scale score and age(p < 0.01).Conclusions: This study found that level of dependency and fall risks increased with the increase in age. Effective global and multidisciplinary interventions are needed to decrease older individuals' dependency levels and fall risks today when the number of older individuals is increasing.