One in three American older adults fall every year, making falls the leading cause
of nonfatal injury treated in the emergency department (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention [CDC], 2013). Fall-related injuries cost the United States healthcare system
nearly $30 billion a year and result in 27,000 deaths per year (Burns, Stevens, & Lee,
2016). The risk of falls increases with age, occurring more often in women than man.
Age-related muscle weakness and functional decline contribute to fall risk. Age-related
changes in neuroendocrine hormone production and shifts in circadian rhythms promote
sleep disorders, affecting nearly two-thirds of older adults. Poor sleep quality over time
leads to drowsiness and impaired attention span and judgment. The purpose of this
secondary analysis of a previously collected data set was to describe the relationships
among frailty, subjective sleep quality, and falls in community-dwelling older adults.
This secondary analysis also sought to determine the extent to which frailty and
subjective sleep quality predict risk of future falls among community-dwelling older adults. Correlational analyses were performed to determine the nature and significance of
the relationship between sleep quality and falls, frailty and falls, and sleep quality and
frailty. A multiple regression analysis was performed to determine if sleep quality and
frailty combined could predict falls. Frailty was found to account for a small variance in
fall risk. However, sleep quality was not significantly related to falls nor was sleep
quality predictive of falls. Risk for falls should be assessed at every clinical encounter
and efforts to promote restful sleep should be addressed at least annually to reduce the
risks of falls, functional decline, and sleep disorders among older adults in the
community. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fau.edu/oai:fau.digital.flvc.org:fau_34592 |
| Contributors | Staal, Jacqueline (author), Smith, Marlaine (Thesis advisor), Florida Atlantic University (Degree grantor), Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing |
| Publisher | Florida Atlantic University |
| Source Sets | Florida Atlantic University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 121 p., application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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