Fall Risk and Coping of Older Adults After Hospitalization: A Mixed Methods Study

Coping is defined as cognitive and behavioral effort to manage specific external and/or internal demands, such as managing one’s own fall risk. Little is known about the relationship between the risk of falling in older adults and their coping strategies. The purpose of this study is to examine the fall risk after hospitalization, the adequacy of self-perceived fall risk and coping strategies of older adults. In this mixed-methods study, the adequacy of perceived fall risk was determined using the de Morton Mobility Index and the ABC Scale in 98 geriatric patients recruited in a geriatric hospital. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a subsample of 16 participants 6 months after discharge to identify coping strategies. The six interviewees who adequately assessed their fall risk reported active/positive coping. In contrast, participants who assessed their fall risk inadequately (10 out of 16) reported passive/negative coping. Older adults who inadequately assessed their fall risk need special accompaniment in geriatric wards to develop active/positive coping strategies.