Turkish Journal of Geriatrics 2004 , Vol 7, Issue 2
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FEAR OF FALLING, ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING AND QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG ELDERLY INDIVIDUALS
Yasemin KUZEYLÄ° YILDIRIM, Ayfer KARADAKOVAN
Ege Üniversitesi Hemşirelik Yüksekokulu İç Hastalıkları Hemşireliği Anabilim Dalı, İZMİR This study was planned descriptively in order to determine the relationship between fear of falling and activities of daily living and quality of life related to health.
160 elderly individuals who were 60 years ofage and over and were residing in T.C. Retirement Foundation Narlıdere Rest and Nursing Home were enrolled in the research. To assess the basic activities of daily living of the elderly individuals an Activities of Daily Living Scale and to evaluate their quality of life a SF-36 Quality of Life Scale were used. A chi square significance test and a Student’s t test were used for the evaluation of data.
It was established that women, individuals who had previous history of falling, individuals who had falled in last 6 months and those who had loss of vision and loss os strength in their extremities experienced more fear of falling. It was observed that there was a relationship between fear of falling and activities of daily living, such as taking a bath and dressing up. It was also determined that fear of falling had a direct and unfavorable affect on the quality of life and those who had experienced more fear of falling, received lower quality of life scores.
Keywords : Elderly, Fear Of Falling, Activities Of Daily Living, Quality Of Life