Investigation of kinesiophobia and fall fear/anxiety in elderly individuals

INVESTIGATION OF KINESIOPHOBIA AND FALL FEAR/ANXIETY IN ELDERLY INDIVIDUALS The aim of this study was to investigate the kinesiophobia and fall fear/anxiety in elderly people living in nursing homes. The study was conducted with 175 elderly people living in a nursing home under the Ministry of Family and Social Policies in Ankara, Bolu and Düzce. After the demographic information was obtained, anxiety and fear of falling was evaluated with the International Fall Efficacy Scale (FES-I) and kinesiophobia with Tampa Kinesiophobia Scale and depression levels were evaluated with Beck Depression Scale. In our study, a significant correlation was found between fall fear/anxiety and kinesophobia and depression levels of elderly individuals (p<0.05). There was a significant relationship between the fall fear/anxiety and the number of chronic disorders, increasing age, female gender and assistive device use (p<0.05). There was a significant relationship between chronic disorders, increasing age, use of assistive devices, and the presence of falls and kinesiophobia, while a significant negative relationship was found between kinesiophobia and performing physical activity (p <0.05). Depression levels were found to be significantly higher in individuals with chronic disorders using assistive devices, but significantly lower in individuals who performed physical activity (p <0.05). As a result, kinesiophobia of individuals who had previously fallen increased. Individuals with increased kinesiophobia had more fear/anxiety of falling. Depression levels of these individuals were found to be higher. Key Words: Fall, fall fear/anxiety, kinesophobia, old age.