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Analysis of Falls Efficacy Scale and Vulnerable Elders Survey as Predictors of Falls

Introduction Falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among older adults according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Falls Efficacy Scale (FES) and Vulnerable Elder Survey (VES-13) are validated screening tools used to assess concern of falling, health deteriora...

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Autores principales: Greenberg, Marna, Jacoby, Jeanne, Barraco, Robert D, Yazdanyar, Ali R, Surmaitis, Ryan M, Youngdahl, Alexander, Chow, Richard B, Murillo, Sofia M, Zeng, Allen H, Kane, Bryan G
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Cureus 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8118675/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33996330
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.14471
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author Greenberg, Marna
Jacoby, Jeanne
Barraco, Robert D
Yazdanyar, Ali R
Surmaitis, Ryan M
Youngdahl, Alexander
Chow, Richard B
Murillo, Sofia M
Zeng, Allen H
Kane, Bryan G
author_facet Greenberg, Marna
Jacoby, Jeanne
Barraco, Robert D
Yazdanyar, Ali R
Surmaitis, Ryan M
Youngdahl, Alexander
Chow, Richard B
Murillo, Sofia M
Zeng, Allen H
Kane, Bryan G
author_sort Greenberg, Marna
collection PubMed
description Introduction Falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among older adults according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Falls Efficacy Scale (FES) and Vulnerable Elder Survey (VES-13) are validated screening tools used to assess concern of falling, health deterioration and functional decline. We set out to determine if the FES or VES-13 could serve as a predictor of falls among older adults in the Emergency Department (ED) setting. Methods This prospective pilot cohort study was conducted at a Level 1 Trauma Center. ED patients aged ≥65 were eligible for the study if they had a mechanical fall risk defined by CDC criteria. After consent and enrollment, FES and the VES surveys were completed. Participants were followed by phone quarterly, and results of the one-year follow-up self-report of fall history described.  Results There were 200 subjects enrolled and after excluding those that were withdrawn, deceased, or lost to follow-up, 184 were available for analysis of their follow-up visit at 12 months. A greater proportion of the participants were women (108 (58.7%) vs 76 (41.3%); P=0.88). The average age of the study participants was 74.2±7.3 years. There was no significant difference in age between men and women (median: 73 vs 73; p=0.47).  At the follow-up visit, 33 (17.9%) had a reported fall. The mean age did not significantly differ when comparing those with versus without a fall (75.6 vs 73.9; p=0.24). There was no significant difference in the proportion with a VES-13 ≥ 3 when comparing those with and without a reported fall (45.5% vs 37.8%; p = 0.41). The median FES score did not differ among those with as compared to without a fall (11 vs 10; p=0.12). Conclusions Subjects who had a VES-13 score of ≥3 were statistically no more likely to have fallen than those with a score of <3. Additionally, the FES score did not statistically differ when comparing those who had fallen to those who had not. Further research into alternative screening methods in the ED setting for fall risk is recommended. 
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spelling pubmed-81186752021-05-15 Analysis of Falls Efficacy Scale and Vulnerable Elders Survey as Predictors of Falls Greenberg, Marna Jacoby, Jeanne Barraco, Robert D Yazdanyar, Ali R Surmaitis, Ryan M Youngdahl, Alexander Chow, Richard B Murillo, Sofia M Zeng, Allen H Kane, Bryan G Cureus Emergency Medicine Introduction Falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among older adults according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Falls Efficacy Scale (FES) and Vulnerable Elder Survey (VES-13) are validated screening tools used to assess concern of falling, health deterioration and functional decline. We set out to determine if the FES or VES-13 could serve as a predictor of falls among older adults in the Emergency Department (ED) setting. Methods This prospective pilot cohort study was conducted at a Level 1 Trauma Center. ED patients aged ≥65 were eligible for the study if they had a mechanical fall risk defined by CDC criteria. After consent and enrollment, FES and the VES surveys were completed. Participants were followed by phone quarterly, and results of the one-year follow-up self-report of fall history described.  Results There were 200 subjects enrolled and after excluding those that were withdrawn, deceased, or lost to follow-up, 184 were available for analysis of their follow-up visit at 12 months. A greater proportion of the participants were women (108 (58.7%) vs 76 (41.3%); P=0.88). The average age of the study participants was 74.2±7.3 years. There was no significant difference in age between men and women (median: 73 vs 73; p=0.47).  At the follow-up visit, 33 (17.9%) had a reported fall. The mean age did not significantly differ when comparing those with versus without a fall (75.6 vs 73.9; p=0.24). There was no significant difference in the proportion with a VES-13 ≥ 3 when comparing those with and without a reported fall (45.5% vs 37.8%; p = 0.41). The median FES score did not differ among those with as compared to without a fall (11 vs 10; p=0.12). Conclusions Subjects who had a VES-13 score of ≥3 were statistically no more likely to have fallen than those with a score of <3. Additionally, the FES score did not statistically differ when comparing those who had fallen to those who had not. Further research into alternative screening methods in the ED setting for fall risk is recommended.  Cureus 2021-04-13 /pmc/articles/PMC8118675/ /pubmed/33996330 http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.14471 Text en Copyright © 2021, Greenberg et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Emergency Medicine
Greenberg, Marna
Jacoby, Jeanne
Barraco, Robert D
Yazdanyar, Ali R
Surmaitis, Ryan M
Youngdahl, Alexander
Chow, Richard B
Murillo, Sofia M
Zeng, Allen H
Kane, Bryan G
Analysis of Falls Efficacy Scale and Vulnerable Elders Survey as Predictors of Falls
title Analysis of Falls Efficacy Scale and Vulnerable Elders Survey as Predictors of Falls
title_full Analysis of Falls Efficacy Scale and Vulnerable Elders Survey as Predictors of Falls
title_fullStr Analysis of Falls Efficacy Scale and Vulnerable Elders Survey as Predictors of Falls
title_full_unstemmed Analysis of Falls Efficacy Scale and Vulnerable Elders Survey as Predictors of Falls
title_short Analysis of Falls Efficacy Scale and Vulnerable Elders Survey as Predictors of Falls
title_sort analysis of falls efficacy scale and vulnerable elders survey as predictors of falls
topic Emergency Medicine
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8118675/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33996330
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.14471
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