Socio-demographic profile and health conditions of elderly people who have suffered falls

Objective: The study's purpose has been to identify the socio-demographic profile and health conditions of the elderly who suffered falls. Methods: It is a descriptive and cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach, which had a sample of 220 elderly people who fell during the last year. The variables are as follows: socio-demographic characteristics, health conditions, assessment of fear of falling, and functional capacity. A data descriptive analysis was performed. Results: The elderly that suffered falls are the following categories: majority females, ranging within an age group from 70 to 79 years old, widow, with low schooling, living with two or more people, retired with income of up to 1 minimum wage, self-assessed their health as regular/poor, reported having two or more health problems, including cardiovascular problems, musculoskeletal problems, vision problems, and using medications regularly. They were also classified as functionally independent and afraid to fall. Conclusion: The socio-demographic profile and the health conditions found here regarding the elderly are important to guide the action of health professionals towards fall prevention.