Falls risk assessment outcomes and factors associated with falls for older Indigenous Australians

Abstract Objective: To describe the prevalence of falls and associated risk factors in older Indigenous Australians, and compare the accuracy of validated falls risk screening and assessment tools in this population in classifying fall status. Method: Cross‐sectional study of 289 Indigenous Australi...

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Main Authors: Keith D. Hill, Leon Flicker, Dina LoGiudice, Kate Smith, David Atkinson, Zoë Hyde, Stephen Fenner, Linda Skeaf, Roslyn Malay, Eileen Boyle
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2016-12-01
Series:Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.12569
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author Keith D. Hill
Leon Flicker
Dina LoGiudice
Kate Smith
David Atkinson
Zoë Hyde
Stephen Fenner
Linda Skeaf
Roslyn Malay
Eileen Boyle
author_facet Keith D. Hill
Leon Flicker
Dina LoGiudice
Kate Smith
David Atkinson
Zoë Hyde
Stephen Fenner
Linda Skeaf
Roslyn Malay
Eileen Boyle
author_sort Keith D. Hill
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Objective: To describe the prevalence of falls and associated risk factors in older Indigenous Australians, and compare the accuracy of validated falls risk screening and assessment tools in this population in classifying fall status. Method: Cross‐sectional study of 289 Indigenous Australians aged ≥45 years from the Kimberley region of Western Australia who had a detailed assessment including self‐reported falls in the past year (n=289), the adapted Elderly Falls Screening Tool (EFST; n=255), and the Falls Risk for Older People‐Community (FROP‐Com) screening tool (3 items, n=74) and FROP‐Com falls assessment tool (n=74). Results: 32% of participants had ≥1 fall in the preceding year, and 37.3% were classified high falls risk using the EFST (cut‐off ≥2). In contrast, for the 74 participants assessed with the FROP‐Com, only 14.9% were rated high risk, 35.8% moderate risk, and 49.3% low risk. The FROP‐Com screen and assessment tools had the highest classification accuracy for identifying fallers in the preceding year (area under curve >0.85), with sensitivity/specificity highest for the FROP‐Com assessment (cut‐off ≥12), sensitivity=0.84 and specificity=0.73. Conclusions: Falls are common in older Indigenous Australians. The FROP‐Com falls risk assessment tool appears useful in this population, and this research suggests changes that may improve its utility further.
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spelling doaj.art-33eb3cc2a65647329d2c2a0984eca4fc2023-08-02T00:28:35ZengElsevierAustralian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health1326-02001753-64052016-12-0140655355810.1111/1753-6405.12569Falls risk assessment outcomes and factors associated with falls for older Indigenous AustraliansKeith D. Hill0Leon Flicker1Dina LoGiudice2Kate Smith3David Atkinson4Zoë Hyde5Stephen Fenner6Linda Skeaf7Roslyn Malay8Eileen Boyle9School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science Curtin University Western AustraliaWA Centre for Health & Ageing, Centre for Medical Research University of Western AustraliaDepartment of Aged Care Melbourne Health VictoriaWA Centre for Health & Ageing, Centre for Medical Research University of Western AustraliaRural Clinical School of Western Australia University of Western AustraliaWA Centre for Health & Ageing, Centre for Medical Research University of Western AustraliaDepartment of Psychiatry Royal Perth Hospital Western AustraliaWA Centre for Health & Ageing, Centre for Medical Research University of Western AustraliaWA Centre for Health & Ageing, Centre for Medical Research University of Western AustraliaSchool of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science Curtin University Western AustraliaAbstract Objective: To describe the prevalence of falls and associated risk factors in older Indigenous Australians, and compare the accuracy of validated falls risk screening and assessment tools in this population in classifying fall status. Method: Cross‐sectional study of 289 Indigenous Australians aged ≥45 years from the Kimberley region of Western Australia who had a detailed assessment including self‐reported falls in the past year (n=289), the adapted Elderly Falls Screening Tool (EFST; n=255), and the Falls Risk for Older People‐Community (FROP‐Com) screening tool (3 items, n=74) and FROP‐Com falls assessment tool (n=74). Results: 32% of participants had ≥1 fall in the preceding year, and 37.3% were classified high falls risk using the EFST (cut‐off ≥2). In contrast, for the 74 participants assessed with the FROP‐Com, only 14.9% were rated high risk, 35.8% moderate risk, and 49.3% low risk. The FROP‐Com screen and assessment tools had the highest classification accuracy for identifying fallers in the preceding year (area under curve >0.85), with sensitivity/specificity highest for the FROP‐Com assessment (cut‐off ≥12), sensitivity=0.84 and specificity=0.73. Conclusions: Falls are common in older Indigenous Australians. The FROP‐Com falls risk assessment tool appears useful in this population, and this research suggests changes that may improve its utility further.https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.12569FallsAboriginalrisk assessmentremote populationolder people
spellingShingle Keith D. Hill
Leon Flicker
Dina LoGiudice
Kate Smith
David Atkinson
Zoë Hyde
Stephen Fenner
Linda Skeaf
Roslyn Malay
Eileen Boyle
Falls risk assessment outcomes and factors associated with falls for older Indigenous Australians
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
Falls
Aboriginal
risk assessment
remote population
older people
title Falls risk assessment outcomes and factors associated with falls for older Indigenous Australians
title_full Falls risk assessment outcomes and factors associated with falls for older Indigenous Australians
title_fullStr Falls risk assessment outcomes and factors associated with falls for older Indigenous Australians
title_full_unstemmed Falls risk assessment outcomes and factors associated with falls for older Indigenous Australians
title_short Falls risk assessment outcomes and factors associated with falls for older Indigenous Australians
title_sort falls risk assessment outcomes and factors associated with falls for older indigenous australians
topic Falls
Aboriginal
risk assessment
remote population
older people
url https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.12569
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