In the previous studies, the fear of fall was assumed to be an independent predictor of fall prevention behavior with other fall risk factors. Therefore, appropriate studies that thoroughly investigate the fear and fall-prevention related programs are required.įall-related knowledge and health belief on fall are predictive factors for fall prevention behaviors. Another study showed that fear of fall decreases after conducting a fall-prevention exercise program ( Kang, 2016), whereas a contradictory study reported no effectiveness of the program towards fear of fall ( Shin, Kim, Kang, & Yeo, 2016). One study reported that fear of fall decreases with increasing knowledge and efficacy in preventing falls ( Kwon, 2010). However, strong fears could result in older adults avoiding activities they are capable of performing, thereby weakening them and increasing the risk of fall and a decrease in the quality of life ( Chang, 2009 Jung, Lee, & Chung, 2006). One of the negative impacts of a fall, the fear of fall ( Lee & Kim, 2011), can help older adults avoid a risk of falls to a certain degree. A study by Jang and Song (2015) reports that factors influencing fall-prevention behaviors are subcategories of health belief on fall these include perceived fall risk, perceived benefit, and efficacy of fall-prevention behaviors ( Jang & Song, 2015). Studies have also investigated the effect of health belief on fall-prevention activities amongst nurses and caregivers ( Jung, Park, & Jung, 2015 Park & Kim, 2014). Health belief on fall is a protective predictive factor of fall-prevention behaviors ( Jo, Kim, Lee, & Jeong, 2004). These studies indicate that adequate knowledge of fall has a key role in preventing falls among the elderly. Studies for nurses and caregivers also reported similar findings ( Kim & Eun, 2014 Yoo, 2017). Prior studies regarding fall prevention behaviors have shown that fall-related knowledge is positively associated with fall-prevention among older adults ( Hwang & Shin, 2013 Yoo, Jeon, & Kim, 2013). However, since it is a preventable occurrence rather than an unfortunate accident ( Kim & Eun, 2014), it is important to focus on fall-prevention.
Falls may be accompanied by numerous problems including serious injuries, decreased daily activities, fear of fall, loss of self-confidence, activity intolerance, decreased quality of life ( Deshpande et al., 2008), and even death due to associated complications (Tinetti, 2002). This indicates that a fall is a common accident among older adults. Increased health care costs are majorly due to treatments for safety-related accidents, especially falls 25.1% of the elderly experienced a fall in the past year, and hospitalization was required in 63.4% of these cases due to injuries resulting from the fall ( Ministry of Health Welfare, 2014).
The growth of senior citizens results in increased health care costs towards this population the health care cost for citizens above 65 years was 38.7% of the health care cost for the entire population, and on an average, one elder spends three times more on health care expenses than an individual ( National Health Insurance Service, Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, 2016). Korea has the highest growing rate of the elderly, with the population of 65 years or more being 13.8% of the entire population in 2017, and projected at 41.0% in 2060 ( Statistics Korea, 2017).
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