Investigation of fall self awareness and social support status in elderly patients

Aim: This research was carried out to examine the self-awareness and social support status of falling in elderly patients hospitalized in orthopedics and physical therapy clinics due to falls. Material and Method: The population of this descriptive and relationship-seeking study consists of patients treated in orthopedics and physical therapy clinics of a state hospital in a province. Sample selection was not made in the study, and 150 patients who met the criteria of the study and volunteered to participate in the study were included. The descriptive features form, the Self-Awareness Scale for Elderly Falls, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support were used to collect the data. In the analysis of the data, numbers, percentages, minimum and maximum values, mean and standard deviation, Mann Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis and Spearman correlation analysis were applied. Results: 51.3% of the individuals participating in the research were male, 60.7% were literate, and 92% were married. It was determined that the mean scores of Falling Self-Awareness of the sick individuals were 62.28 ±8.41 and the mean of Perceived Social Support was 53.12 ±19.62. Conclusion: It was determined that the self-awareness level of falling in the elderly patients was below the medium level and the level of perceived social support was above the medium level. It has been determined that some variables affect the patients' level of self-awareness and perceived social support of falling. It is recommended to investigate different variables that may affect the fall self-awareness and social support levels of elderly patients. 2023, 82 Pages Keywords: Elderly Patient, Falls, Old Age, Social Support