Facilitators and barriers for older people to take part in fall prevention programs: A review of literature

Background. - Falling is the leading cause of accidental death after 65. Fall prevention programs are effective, but they involve few seniors. This article reviewed the literature on facilitators and barriers to participate in such programs. Methods. - A literature review was conducted to identify documents in English, German and French published between 1990 and May 2012. Medline database, PsychInfo, Psychological and behavioral sciences and Francis were systematically searched, as were the bibliographies and some journals of public health, gerontology and social sciences. Of 462 documents found, 19 were selected and analyzed. Results. - Of the 19 articles selected, 12 were on qualitative studies and 7 on literature reviews. Among the barriers to participation in falls prevention programs, documents highlighted the perception of fall as an inevitable event, the inadequate timing of prevention intervention and material difficulties. Conversely, being referred to prevention intervention by a professional, being convinced by the social benefits of interventions and the adequacy of interventions to the needs of beneficiaries were factors facilitating the participation and compliance of the elderly. Conclusion. - This literature review identified three major issues to consider when implementing sustainable and acceptable fall prevention programs: choice of the referring agent, and social representations of falling. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.