social capital and the incidence of falls
abstract
study participants : seniors from guelph, ontario, canada. falls are a serious concern among the elderly as they often have pre-existing
comorbidities that increase their risk of injury as a result of a fall. previous studies have
found links between biological, behavioural and environmental risk factors and falls
among the elderly.
the current study focused on the effect of social capital on falls among guelph
seniors aged 75 and over whom were approached using non-probability convenience
sampling. each of the 25 participants was interviewed and data was collected on the
following measures; basic demographics. fear of falling and social capital. total falls
were tracked over a period of three months.
men (9.34 ± 1.15) had higher balance confidence scores than women (7.86 ±
2.23). a significant positive correlation was found
between social capital and education
(r=.488, p=.013). a high degree of social capital was associated with an increase in
balance confidence scores (p=.455; p=.046) adjusting for covariates (model r²=.548).
low level of housing, for example, rental and subsidized was associated with a higher
incidence of falls (p=.444; p=.056), even when controlling for the following independent
variables: age, gender, risk factors, education, social capital, income and balance
confidence (model r²=.471).
falls are predictable and preventable. the current study highlights some areas for
public health intervention: housing, education and social capital.
collections
- retrospective theses [1604]