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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| The relationship between fear of falling and gait abilities in elderly adults in a subacute rehabilitation facility | | Author(s) | Jennifer Manning, Maureen E Neistadt, Sandra Parker |
| Journal title | Physical & Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics, vol 15, no 2, 1997 |
| Pages | pp 33-47 |
| Source | Haworth Document Delivery Center, Haworth Press, Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904, USA. |
| Keywords | Falls ; Inactivity ; Gait loss ; In-patients ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | Several studies have suggested that fear of falling in older people results in self-imposed activity restriction and subsequent functional decline. The aim of this study was to examine if fear of falling in older patients in a rehabilitation centre in New Hampshire, United States (US) was related to actual balance and gait abilities. Spearman rank order correlations were used to compare scores on the Tinetti Falls Efficacy Scale (FES), a measure of fear of falling, and Gait Evaluation (Balance and Gait), a measure of balance and gait. Analyses of the associations between subjects' scores on individual activities on the FES and their Balance and Gait sub-test scores indicated significant positive associations between balance and/or gait scores and four activities: climbing stairs, shopping, walking around the neighbourhood, and running for the telephone. The associations found suggest that the subjects' fear of falling was an accurate indicator of gait and balance ability. Balance may be especially important in these activities because most are carried out in unpredictable environments or circumstances. |
| Accession Number | CPA-980303403 A |
| Classmark | OLF: C5: C8G: LF7: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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