Abstract

SOUSA, Luis Manuel Mota et al. Assessment tools of risk for falls in elderly dwelling in the community. Enferm. glob. [online]. 2016, vol.15, n.42, pp.490-505. ISSN 1695-6141.

Falls and risk of falls increase with age and with the level of frailty associated with aging, hence the risk of falls is a phenomenon of interest to nurses. In Portugal, the Directorate-General of Health recommends evaluation tests for mobility, physical and functional fitness. Objective: Identify the tests and the assessment tools used to assess the fall risk in the elderly who dwell in the community. Method: Systematic Literature Review that was based on the recommendations of the Joanna Briggs Institute on PICo strategy and based on PRISMA. The PICo strategy defined the inclusion criteria: Population (P) - the elderly; Interest Area / Intervention (I) - instruments and tests for assessing the risk of falls and; and Context (Co) -live in the community. The electronic search was conducted in EBSCOHost^® CINAHL Complete and MEDLINE Complete, using the search terms fall*, community dwelling, fall risk factors, tools and scale. Results: A sample of 24 studies was selected. Six scales for the assessment of the risk of fall were identified, three scales for the assessment fear of fall and seven tests for the assessment of risk factors that may be predictive of the risk of falls in the elderly living in the community. Conclusions: The results highlight that there are several tools and tests and the importance of using valid, reliable and sensitive instruments by nurses in their clinical practice in order to obtain accurate diagnoses.

Keywords : Accidental Fall; Risk Factors; Risk Assessment; Aged.

        · abstract in Spanish | Portuguese     · text in Spanish | Portuguese     · Spanish ( pdf ) | Portuguese ( pdf )