Risk of Falls in Older Adults in the Rural Region Case Study Paccha Cuenca, Ecuador

Abstract

The growing aging of the population constitutes a challenge in the social and health system which considers the risk of falls as one of its main health problems. The objective of the study is to determine the risk of falls in the elderly population of the La Fortaleza group - Paccha, Cuenca. This research corresponds to a descriptive and cross-sectional case study, where the unit of analysis was the elderly from the La Fortaleza group. The Tinetti scale determine the risk of falls in older adults, with a reliability 0.95 - 0.8 and Cronbach's Alpha 0.91. The frequency and distribution statistics were analyzed in the SPSS version 25 program and to determine the statistical significance the Chi-Square statistic was used 86 older adults with a mean age of 76.65 years (SD = 7.35) were evaluated, determining a high risk of falls (61.6%) in this population. An association was obtained between the risk of falls and the age variable (p = 0.000); furthermore, the equilibrium dimension of the Tinetti scale had a greater implication than the march in the risk of falls of the older adults. Conclusion: The high risk of falls in this population is associated with older age and alterations in balance. Finally, the need for more studies of different characters and scales is analyzed.