ARAÚJO, Giannini Cunha de.
Abstract:
Population growth among the elderly has been shown quite strongly in recent years . Associated with this demographic transition is evident in the increase of degenerative diseases as well as situations of risk and health hazards such as falls. Objective: To identify the frequency of falls and risk factors prevalent among the elderly in Cuité -PB. Methodology: This was an exploratory descriptive cross-sectional survey of quantitative nature. Participated in the study 250 elderly service users of Basic Health Units in the municipality of Cuité - Paraiba, but only 110 were considered able to follow up the collection of data for meeting the inclusion criteria in this study. For data collection a structured interview guided by a questionnaire containing 32 objective questions covering sociodemographic, related to falls and welfare aspects variables was performed. For cataloging and analyzing the data we used the Software Word and Excel 2007 whose results were presented in the form of graphs and tables using descriptive statistics. Results: It was found that most falls occurred among married elderly (45,5 %) , female (73,6 %) , with training in basic education (97.3 %), family income than the minimum wage ( 67,3% ) whose ages ranged from 70-79 years old (40,0 %). About 69.1 % reported having experienced one or two episodes of falls in the last three years which occurred mainly at home (48,0 %) and in the morning shift (59,1 %). About the ergonomic features of the environment, it was evident that the floor was dry met (54.5 %) had adequate lighting (86.4 %) and there were no objects that compromised locomotion (69,1 %). However, 98,2 % reported that there was no onsite security devices . About 64,5 % mentioned intrinsic factors present some visual disturbance, 82,7 % were taking medications and 16.4 % mentioned the presence of orthopedic problems during the episode drop. The femur fracture, abrasions and post- traumatic stress were the consequences mentioned most post- event. Conclusion: Based on these results we conclude that the occurrence of falls in the elderly is still quite frequent and that intrinsic and environmental factors continue excelling as likely responsible for the occurrence of falls among the elderly. It is necessary that health professionals are involved in preventing these events in order to minimize complications in this age group.
