Open AccessCharacteristics of Falls Among the Elderly During the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: Covid-19 falls among elderly
Author(s) -
Isha Akulwar Tajane,
Julia Jossy,
Priya Gupta,
Prachi Jadhav
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
asia pacific journal of health management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2204-3136
pISSN - 1833-3818
DOI - 10.24083/apjhm.v16i3.971
Subject(s) - covid-19 , pandemic , falling (accident) , balance (ability) , medicine , gerontology , injury prevention , occupational safety and health , fall prevention , weakness , poison control , medical emergency , physical therapy , environmental health , virology , surgery , outbreak , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Background: Every year millions of older people experience a fall. There are many reasons associated as to why a fall occurs in elderly: musculoskeletal weakness, balance issues etc. A fall can lead to a serious injury or mortality depending on the type and impact of the fall. As the environment for the elderly was restricted to their homes during the Covid-19 pandemic, this study aimed at assessing the characteristics of falls during the pandemic.Materials and methods: 60 elderly individuals aging 60 years and above participated in the study. This included 36.7% males and 63.3% females. A pre-validated questionnaire was used to assess the characteristics of falls.Result: Fear of fall was not experienced or was same as before the lockdown however the fall percentage decreased by 7% during the lockdown.Conclusion: Falls among the elderly decreased during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.