Older People’s Descriptions of Their Engagement in Fall Prevention

Evidence-based strategies to decrease fall rates are well established. However, little is understood about how older people engage in fall prevention strategies. Motivational Interviewing (MI) sessions aimed to facilitate individuals’ engagement in fall prevention can be analyzed to learn what it means for older people to engage in fall prevention. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore how older people describe their engagement in fall prevention. Participants in our parent project, MI for Fall Prevention (MI-FP), who received MI sessions were purposively selected for maximum variation in age, sex, fall risks, and MI specialist assigned. The first (of 8) MI sessions from 16 participants were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Three researchers first deductively analyzed fall prevention strategies that participants described using an evidence-based fall prevention guideline as a reference. Then, we inductively analyzed the characteristics of these strategies and how participants engaged in them. Finally, we used the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behavior (COM-B) model to organize our results about factors influencing engagement. We found (1) older adults engage in unique combinations of fall prevention strategies and (2) decisions about engagement in fall prevention strategies were influenced by multiple factors that were personal (e.g., who I am, capability, motivation, and opportunities). This study highlighted how fall prevention can be a life-long lifestyle decision for older people. Understanding older people’s perspectives about engaging in fall prevention is essential to develop interventions to promote evidence-based fall prevention strategies in real-world settings.