Correlation Between Fear of Fall and Balance Amongst Geriatric Population - A Cross Sectional Study

Background and aim of study: Risk of fall is most common among geriatric population. Aim of this study is to find correlation between fear of fall and balance among geriatric population. Method: A cross sectional study was conducted on community dwelling elderly. 51 subjects (24 males and 27 females) participated after screening for inclusion and exclusion criteria. The inclusion criteria were age 60 years and above (mean=7.41, SD­­=6.29), both genders, ability to comprehend English and Gujarati languages. The exclusion criteria were physical disabilities, major cardiopulmonary conditions, post-operative patient within 6 months, neurological conditions, individuals with cognitive or perceptive deficits, history of any psychiatric or psychological conditions. Subjects were explained about the study and after taking informed written consent fear of fall were measured by using Fall Efficacy Scale (FES) and balance was measured using Berg Balance Scale (BBS). Result: The data were analyzed using Spearman correlation co-efficient to examine the relationship between FES (Mean=20.72, SD= 13.38) and BBS (Mean=47.94, SD=7.27). The correlation co-efficient between fall efficacy and balance performance was –0.539 (P<0.05). Correlation between every component of FES with total score of BBS showed moderate negative correlation in components taking a bath, walking around the house and preparing meals. Conclusion: This study concluded that there was a significant correlation between fall efficacy and balance performance. Keywords: Fear of fall, Balance, Berg Balance Scale, Geriatrics