Fear of Falling in Older Adults Living in a Community-Dwelling Facility: Prevalence and Its Impact on Activity Behavior and Physical Function

Abstract

This study examined the prevalence and the impact of fear of falling (FOF) on physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior (PA), and physical function in older adults living in a continuing care retirement community (CCRC). Ninety-three older adults were included and self-reported assessed on PA and SB. Further, participants’ physical function was assessed using a collection of measures of valid objective tests. Independent t test was used to compare the dependent variables between FOF groups, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to control for assistive device usage. FOF was prevalent in 47.3% of the sample and PA and SB did not differ between FOF groups ( p > .05). ANCOVA revealed that performance on several physical function tests remained significantly better ( p < .05) for the no FOF group compared to the yes group. Our findings demonstrated similar levels of PA and SB between FOF groups, but worse physical function for older adults reporting FOF.