Fear of Falling after Hip Fracture

Abstract

Fear of falling always occur in the elderly, in particular those with a previous hip fracture, and often lead those elderly to lose their balance and gait confidence and avoid any independent activities. Consequently, which could loss their ability to perform the activities and muscle strength. Therefore, delays in physical rehabilitation following hip surgery often lead to depression and decrease quality of life. The factors affecting fear of falling include anxiety, and functional self-efficacy. Several instruments used to assess fear of falling including Falls Efficacy Scale (FES), Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I), Activity-specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC), The Survey of Activities and Fear of Falling in the Elderly (SAFE), and Single Item Fear of Falling Question. The current guideline to reduce the fear of falling in patients with hip fracture includes raising their functional self-efficacy, emotional and behavioral rehabilitation, muscle strengthening and balance training, and patient education on fall prevention and self-management. Nurses should assess the significance of fear of falling and provide nursing care in the elderly, to reinforce the physical and mental health of the elderly, resulting in indepent and thus their better quality of life.