The effect of Elderly Promotion System for Fall Prevention in Suriyakan Community Surin Hospital

Abstract

           Falls in the elderly is a common problem due to the deterioration of the body that occurs with age. It causes both severe and minor injuries. The worst case scenario is death. Falls in the elderly can be prevented by providing education and improving physical fitness. Objective: To study the effect of the elderly health promotion program on preventing falls in the elderly. Methods: This study is a research and development by providing health promotion services for the elderly in the community. This is a single-group study measuring before and after results among the elderly people who received a health promotion program to prevent falls in the Suriyakarn community. Processing period: June - August 2023. This is a pilot study with a sample of 10 people. Activity format: 1) Provide education on how to prevent falls. 2) Demonstration of exercise include Increasing the strength of upper and lower limbs, body balance and walking training in various forms. 3) Create an exercise program in the form of the LINE official application (OA) for the elderly to train continuously at home. And 4) Provide advices, questions and answers health problems through the LINE application system (line OA). Train 2 days per week for a period of 6 weeks. Results were measured using balance ability tests, including the Five Times Sit to Stand Test (FTSST) and the Timed Up and Go Test (TUG). The statistics were analyzed by Wilcoxon test and frequency distribution in percentage.

           Results: It was found that the elderly who received exercise training in the fall prevention program had an average time of less than 12 seconds on the FTSST test and less than 13 seconds on TUG. These are the statistically significant decrease (P<0.01). Conclusion: Therefore, in this study, it is concluded that the results of this health promotion program for the elderly to prevent falls can be an alternative for the elderly in the community to practice activities to prevent falls in the community.