الفهرس 
Falls in The ElderlyOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Older people make up a large and increasing percentage of the population. As people grow older they are increasingly at risk of falling and consequent injuries. A fall may be the first indication of an undetected illness. The prevention of falls is of major importance because they engender considerable mortality, morbidity and suffering for older people and their families, and incurs social costs due to hospital and nursing home admissions.
Approximately 30% of people over 65 fall each year, and for those over 75 the rates are higher. Between 20% and 30% of those who fall suffer injuries that reduce mobility and independence and increase the risk of premature death.
Falls occur more often in nursing homes as nursing home residents are generally frailer than seniors living in the community. They tend to be older, have more cognitive impairments, and have greater limitations in their activities of daily living. They also tend to have more chronic illnesses, be physically dependent, and have a higher prevalence of walking problems.
Fall risk factors can be classified as intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic factors are related to the persons’ functional and health status, such as status of ADL or IADL, visual impairment, balance disorders, foot problems, insomnia, hypotension, dizziness, presence of cardiovascular disease and perceived general health. Extrinsic factors are related to environment, such as poor lighting, slippery floors, lack of handrails in corridors, and uneven and obstructed walking surfaces. Iatrogenic factors are that part of extrinsic factors related to treatment and these include adverse drug reactions, use of restraints, and use of wheelchairs. Previous studies have shown that the risk of falls increases proportionally as the number of risk factors increases.
This thesis was conducted to determine prevalence of fall risk factors in elderly living in nursing homes and the significance of each risk factor.
It is a cross sectional study conducted on 200 nursing home residents 60 years and older; both males and females.
The study showed that the prevalence of falls in nursing homes in Cairo is 64 % , the most prevalent risk factor for falls is Feeling that walking speed declined recently (86%), while the least prevalent risk factor is nursing home feels dark when walking in it (2%),it also showed that the significant risks that associate falls are dementia, depression, functional impairment in ADL and IADL, slower time by get up and go test, multiple co morbidities , use of Anti depressant drugs and benzodiazepines ,and staying in nursing homes for <6 months and >5 years.
Also the following questions were significant in comparison of fallers and non fallers,( Can you climb stairs without help?, Can you cross the road within the green signal interval?, Can you walk 1 kilometer continuously?, Can you stand on one foot for about 5 seconds?, Can you squeeze a towel tightly?, Is your back bent?, Do you feel dizzy?, Do you have knee pain?, Do you have vision problems? Do you have hearing problems?, Do you feel anxious to fall when you walk?).
Finally we found that environmental risk factors increase the risk of nursing home falls especially the indoors factors, modification of this factors are very important way to decrease nursing home falls. And the only significant extrinsic risk factor for falls according to our study was the presence of any obstacles within the house.