Falls and dizziness in frail older people. Predictors, experiences and the effects of a case management intervention
type: CreativeWork
description: Falling in old age may have a large impact on daily life. Falls can lead to injuries, reduced mobility and reduced quality of life. The risk of falls increases with age and frailty level. Dizziness is a strong risk factor for falls, and preventing falls and dizziness in older people is essential. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate risk factors for falls or dizziness and to explore older people’s experiences of living with chronic dizziness. Furthermore, the aim was to evaluate the effects of a home-based case management intervention on falls in frail older people. The thesis comprised three studies. Study I was a longitudinal cohort study, the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care (SNAC), with 1,402 participants in 10 age cohorts from 60 to 96 years. The study started in 2001 and follow-up was done after 3 and 6 years. The sample was divided into subjects aged 60-78 years and 80-96 years and the prevalence and predictors of falls or dizziness were investigated (Paper I). Study II was a qualitative study exploring the experiences of living with chronic dizziness in old age and included 13 people (7 women and 6 men, aged 73 to 87 years). Interviews were conducted and were analysed by content analysis (Paper II). Study III was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) including 153 participants randomly assigned to a case management intervention (n=80) or a control group (n=73). The study included people aged 65+ years who lived in their ordinary homes with functional dependency and repeated health care contacts. The intervention included home visits by a nurse and a physiotherapist at least once a month during 12 months. Data from this study were used in two papers. Paper III investigated predictive validity for falls and optimal cut-off scores for the Downton Fall Risk Index (DFRI), Timed Up and Go (TUG) and the Romberg Test (RT). Paper IV investigated the effects of the case management intervention on falls, injurious falls and falls resulting in medical…
abstract: Falling in old age may have a large impact on daily life. Falls can lead to injuries, reduced mobility and reduced quality of life. The risk of falls increases with age and frailty level. Dizziness is a strong risk factor for falls, and preventing falls and dizziness in older people is essential. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate risk factors for falls or dizziness and to explore older people’s experiences of living with chronic dizziness. Furthermore, the aim was to evaluate the effects of a home-based case management intervention on falls in frail older people. The thesis comprised three studies. Study I was a longitudinal cohort study, the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care (SNAC), with 1,402 participants in 10 age cohorts from 60 to 96 years. The study started in 2001 and follow-up was done after 3 and 6 years. The sample was divided into subjects aged 60-78 years and 80-96 years and the prevalence and predictors of falls or dizziness were investigated (Paper I). Study II was a qualitative study exploring the experiences of living with chronic dizziness in old age and included 13 people (7 women and 6 men, aged 73 to 87 years). Interviews were conducted and were analysed by content analysis (Paper II). Study III was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) including 153 participants randomly assigned to a case management intervention (n=80) or a control group (n=73). The study included people aged 65+ years who lived in their ordinary homes with functional dependency and repeated health care contacts. The intervention included home visits by a nurse and a physiotherapist at least once a month during 12 months. Data from this study were used in two papers. Paper III investigated predictive validity for falls and optimal cut-off scores for the Downton Fall Risk Index (DFRI), Timed Up and Go (TUG) and the Romberg Test (RT). Paper IV investigated the effects of the case management intervention on falls, injurious falls and falls resulting in medical…
author: Olsson Möller, Ulrika
language: eng
keywords: Health Sciences, Aged, frail elderly, falls, dizziness, SNAC, content analysis, RCT, DFRI, TUG, case management
date published: 2014
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:59:49Z
provider: University of Lund
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Department of Health Sciences, Lund University