Falls among the elderly are an important public health problem due to their incidence, to health complications, and to the high assistance cost. Research conducted in Brazil and other countries refer that falls are more frequent among institutionalized elderly people and have multifactorial causes. Aiming at verifying the occurrence of falls among institutionalized elderly people and at identifying their associated factors, data collection of 105 individuals - aged 60 years or over - was carried out. The subjects are all residents of four home institutions in the city of Catanduva, São Paulo. The method used in data collection was a semi-structured interview. The following instruments were used: Geriatric Depression Scale and Mental Status Mini Exam. These instruments are destined to the evaluation of mood, cognitive status respectively. The finds show that 40% of the elderly reported falls over the last six months, and the risk factors considered to be significant were: female sex (p=0.035), medicine use (p=0.047), visual disability (p=0.029), lack of physical activity (p=0.035), presence of osteoarthritis (p=0.000), depression (p=0.034), palm prehension strength deficit (p=0.0165), and balance and march disorder (p=0.038). The results point at the necessity of implementing fall prevention programs in home institutions, through multidisciplinary intervention, therefore aiming at improving this population’s quality of life.
Accidental Falls; Aged; Risk Factors