Description

Falls are a significant public health problem frequently seen among older people. Approximately one-third of individuals aged 65 years and older fall every year, and fall-related deaths are the leading cause of death in the elderly. According to World Health Organization (WHO) data, between 28% and 35% of adults over 65 fall every year; this rate increases to 42% from age 70. Falls and complications arising from falls are an essential problem for nurses working in primary care. In many countries, primary care nurses play an active role in meeting the health needs of the aging population. However, nurses are the health professionals who spend the most time with individuals, especially elderly individuals, who come to receive health services in primary healthcare organizations.

Nurses can assess the fall risk of elderly individuals with reliable screening tools at specific intervals. As a result, they can develop individualized nursing care plans by identifying existing and potential fall risks. Fall risk assessment in primary care and fall risk reduction practices planned after the assessment should be part of both the first health visit and subsequent visits. In the literature, nurse-led fall prevention programs are reported to be effective and promising for preventing falls for older individuals. In the future, nurses will have a more critical role in addressing older individuals' health problems and challenges. Nurses conduct much research involving evidence-based interventions to protect and promote health and manage diseases in various healthcare settings. Nursing science will continue to build the scientific evidence base for better clinical care and improved quality of life for the aging population. Specialist public health nurses also conduct various fall prevention programs for the elderly. It is reported that fall prevention programs reduce the fall rates and fear of falling, improve balance levels, increase quality of life, and positively affect the ability to maintain activities of daily living and live independently. Fall prevention programs that implement and evaluate fall rates, balance status, accident and hospital admissions related to falls, exercise status, muscle strength, fear of falling, and quality of life interventions in fall prevention programs can be an effective intervention for healthy aging by minimizing the risk of falls in elderly individuals. In this doctoral dissertation study, it was aimed to evaluate the effect of a nurse-led home-based fall prevention program on fall rate, balance level, fall risk score, fear of falling, number of hospital admissions due to falls, quality of life, and in-home safety conditions in older adults with high fall risk.