The Association of Falls Risk in Older Adults and Their Living Environment: A Case Study of Rural Area, Thailand

Falls in older adults have become a serious problem and a major cause of home injuries and even deaths. The increasing number of older people that will enter the “older adults” category in a few years’ time calls for an effective plan to mitigate the risk factors to falling. This article reported on our study of the relationship between living environment hazards and fall risk in older adults to reduce and prevent the risk of falling using a specific case of a rural area in Thailand. A site investigation together with a questionnaire survey were conducted in a total of 950 homes of older people who were interviewed in conjunction with authorities from Banphaeo district of Samutsakorn Province, Thailand. Using a multinomial logistic regression model, this research found the following risk of falls based on the categorizations of the calculated risk factors among socio-economic characteristics (sex, age, marital status, income), health status (congenital diseases), and living environment characteristics (toilet availability in bedroom). The analysis identified a multifactorial relationship involving intrinsic and extrinsic factors that determined fall risk among older adults. Based on the findings of the research, risk factors associated with socioeconomic determinants in term of poverty were found as a key barrier in promoting the health and well-being of older adults. We recommend interventions for fall prevention and fall risk-reduction strategies through improvement of the physical environment in the homes of older adults as a proactive measure to lessen the causes of home injuries from falls.

Anticipatory Guidance in Childhood Safety: How do Parents Fare? A Survey from a Tertiary Hospital

Unintentional home injuries are a major cause for childhood morbidity and mortality. Aims and Objective: To find the KAP among mothers about common home injuries and methods to prevent them. To assess how safe the houses of the study population is. Materials and Methods: 200 mothers attending the paediatric OPD of a tertiary care hospital in a sub-urban area of South India were enrolled. They were interviewed with a structured questionnaire. Details regarding socio-demographic aspects, knowledge, attitude and practices about common household accidents and ways to prevent were asked. The safety aspects of their homes were also noted down. The collected data were analysed with sigma plot 13(system software, USA). In the above statistical tools the probability value <0.05 was considered as significant. Result: The mean age of mother was 28.82 ± 4.93 years and age at marriage, 21.7 ± 3.55 years. 54% belonged to lower middle class and nearly 20% each in upper lower and upper middle class. Fall from height, Road traffic accidents followed by electrical injuries were the commonest accidents known by mothers. Socioeconomic status and educational levels had statistical correlation with few of the variables. Conclusion: Knowledge about home accidents is poor in the study population. Most of the houses are not child safe. Parent education about home injuries and training on first aid should be part of newborn follow up.

Variation in Patterns and Volumes of Injuries Admitted to a Level One Trauma Center During Lockdown for COVID-19

IntroductionDue to the global COVID-19 pandemic, a ban on sports outside one’s home and a prohibition on travel between communities were imposed in spring 2020 in Tyrol, Austria. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of these restrictions on a level one trauma center. The objective was to identify the most common injury patterns to ensure targeted prevention in times of an ongoing pandemic.Material and MethodsPatients who presented themselves to our trauma center between week 7 and 22 in 2020 were retrospectively compared to a mean of the patients of the three previous years (2017-2019). The evaluated variables were number of patients, age, gender, country of residence, place of accident, time of treatment, injured body region and anatomical structure, number of surgical intervention and severely injured patients. ResultsComparing the mean count of treated patients per week in 2020 of the pre-lockdown period (n=804.6) with the lockdown period (n=201.8) a decrease in admissions by 69.7% could be observed. The admission incidence was 9.9 times higher in previous years than in 2020 during the lockdown period. Among the injuries treated during the lockdown the largest increase in relative numbers was in home injuries, head or face injuries, and superficial or penetrating injuries. There was a decrease of seriously injured patients as well as patients that needed surgery during the lockdown compared to previous years. ConclusionsWe observed a significant change in the pattern and volume of injuries during a strict lockdown. Intervention programs to reduce the risk of home injuries should be introduced. Furthermore, in order to save resources during a pandemic, specific guidelines on patient management and treatment should be established for the respective medical specialties.Trial registration: 1157/2020, 10.12.2020

Investigation of the Effect of Education Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior on the Mothers’ Preventwive Practices Regarding Toddler Home Injuries

Home injuries are among the causes of death and disability in toddlers. Preventing home injuries is an essential part of the child health care program. Using education-based models interventions can promote mothers’ practices regarding home injuries. This study aimed to investigate the effect of education based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) on the mothers’ preventive practices regarding toddler home injuries. A quasi-experimental study was conducted on 116 mothers referred to comprehensive health centers (58 mothers in each experimental and control group), who were selected using the cluster sampling method. Data were collected using a researcher-developed TPB questionnaire, which was validated by I-CVI (≥0.78), and CVR (≥0.79). Its reliability also confirmed by Cronbach’s alpha coefficients (.52-.93). Afterward, educational intervention was implemented in the experimental group based on TPB in four 45 to 60 minute sessions. After 2 months, the data were recollected from the two groups and analyzed using SPSS software version 16. Comparing the scores of TPB constructs (i.e., perceived behavioral control, behavioral intention, and subjective norms), and mothers’ preventive practices regarding toddler home injuries revealed no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups pre-intervention. However, after the intervention, significant differences were observed between the 2 groups in terms of awareness, the TPB constructs (except for subjective norms), and preventive practices of the mothers ( p < .001). Mothers’ preventive practices regarding toddler home injuries were improved after applying TPB; hence, it is suggested a larger study be completed to confirm the results of this theory-based education.