Relation between built environment and fear of falling in elderly people an assessment of indoor and outdoor residential spaces

Abstract

Building guidelines for elderly-friendly built environments majorly address the physical attributes and rarely consider the psychological aspects of a person. Fear of falling (FOF) hinders the ability to perform activities independently which has a negative impact on the aging process. Few studies indicated a relation between the built environment and FOF. Some others reported a relation between environmental perceptions and FOF. However, little is known if the physical environment is related to perceived environment. Hence, the current study attempts to find the relation between the variables. newlineLiterature suggested that the physical attributes of the environment had little control over the environmental perceptions of people. The physical environment was objective in nature, whereas the perceived environment was subjective in nature and depended significantly on individual attributes apart from the physical aspects. newlineFOF is the criterion variable and its association with environmental fall hazards (EH) and perceived environmental fall hazards (PEH). The study also explored the difference between the EH and PEH. 48 active elderly people aged between 60 to 80 years old, living independently in communities participated in the study. 24 lived in residences designed as per accessibility norms and 24 lived in general housing with no specific emphasis on elderly people. newlinePersonal data was recorded based on clinical records and interview schedules. An assessment of the 48 home environments was conducted to identify environmental fall hazards (EH). The ABC scale was used to assess FOF. PEH were assessed based on a semi-structured questionnaire. Multiple correlation tests were performed to find the association between the variables. The key findings of the study are summarized below, newline1. FOF is associated with healthy aging process. newline2. EH had a significantly strong positive association with FOF. newline3. FOF was very strongly associated with PEH. newline4. There was a significant difference between EH and PEH. newlineThe study concludes