Desenvolvimento de um instrumento para avaliação da percepção do risco de quedas em idosos

Abstract

Introduction: Falling is an important public health problem for older adults. The literature suggests that 30% to 40% of them are preventable through management of risk factors. These factors have been extensively studied by epidemiology. However, adherence to preventive programs depends on older adults’ perception in relation to falling and its risk factors. Thus, it is important to face the subjectivity and older adults’ perception related to this problem. Objective: The objective of the present study was to develop a questionnaire to evaluate older adults’ perception about the risk of falls. Methods: This is a qualitative and descriptive research with a methodological approach, carried out in three phases. Phase one, aiming to verifying older adults’ perceptions about falls and risk factors, was carried out by content analysis. The sample consisted of individuals aged 60 years and over, from the city of Porto Alegre. In phase two the questionnaire was developed, based on the main categories resulted from the previous phase. The questionnaire was then sent to content validity analysis, through evaluation of the judges. In the third phase of the study, questionnaire’s face validity was verified through focal groups constituted by older adults. Results: Regarding the first phase of the study, codification and interpretation of data resulted in two thematic categories: the problematization of falls and the perception of risk factors. The first category highlights that many older adults do not perceive falls as a problem, and the second category demonstrates that older adults perceive risk factors for falls, but often they are not avoided. Extrinsic risk factors seem to be the most remembered by the elderly as causes of falls. In the second phase of the study, the 36-question research tool was sent for content validity analysis through the evaluation of judges, in three aspects: language clarity, importance and theoretical relevance. With these results, the Validity Coefficient (VC) was calculated. All questions with VC <0.7 were excluded. The new questionnaire, with 24 questions, after being tested for facial validity (phase 3), reached 14 questions. Conclusion: according to preliminary results, the questionnaire seems to be relevant to identify if older adults perceive falling as a problem to be prevented and their perception regarding risk factors. This knowledge can help develop more effective methods for fall prevention. Extrinsic risk factors should be addressed differently, as risks at home and on the street are perceived differently. A less objective approach, understanding the meanings attributed to each risk factor is important in order to prevent falls more effectively.