• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.53-62
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• 2017

It is very important for the elderly to maintain their independence and to live safe and comfortable daily lives in order to lead an independent life. The bathroom in the house has the greatest number of fall accidents and has a great influence on the independence of the elderly. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a bathroom design method that improves the independence of the elderly whose physical function is deteriorated through preventing falls. In this study, first of all, we investigated the causes of falling in bathrooms based on the previous studies, and identified the intelligent services that can prevent falls and selected them according to individual needs. Secondly, we investigated the bathroom size of the apartment among the various housing type, analyzed the type of the bathroom, and developed a standard type of the bathroom. Thirdly, we analyzed the design guidelines for the elderly residents in Korea and proposed improvement directions. We also divided the intelligent sanitary appliances and fall-prevention products and proposed the installation method and directions. Therefore, the comprehensive bathroom design standards and proposals proposed in this study will be the basis of bathroom design to prevent falls and improve independence of the elderly, and it will be easy to understand and help the designer in designing. Finally, this study is meaningful in that it provides independence of the elderly through fall prevention and increases the easiness of hygiene action and suggests direction to maintain self-sustaining life of the elderly.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.341-352
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• 2006

Purpose: This study was conducted to develop & to determine the effect of an tailored falls prevention exercise for older adults. Method: Subjects consisted of 59 older adults (experimental group : 29, control group : 30) living at nursing homes. Experimental group participated in tailored falls prevention exercise for 16 weeks(3 times a week, 50 min every session). Data were collected before the exercise, 16 weeks & 24 weeks after the beginning of exercise. Results: 1) the experimental group significantly improved the muscle strength of hip extensor & flexor, knee extensor & flexor, ankle dorsiflexor, & plantar flexor compared to the control group. 2) the experimental group significantly decreased the mean time for 10 times chair stand. 3) the experimental group significantly increased the standing time on one leg and the number of heel raise for 30 seconds compared to the control group. In addition more older adults in the experimental group completed the tandem stance & semi-tandem stance for 10 seconds than the control group. 4) The experimental group significantly decreased the mean time of 6m walk and the fall frequency compared to the control group. Conclusions: This results suggest that tailored falls prevention exercise for older adults can improve muscle strength, static & dynamic balance and decrease the fall frequency of older adults.

• 한국노년학
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.259-273
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• 2009

Purpose: This research was conducted to determine the effects of a multifactorial fall prevention program applying HSEP(Home Support Exercise Program) on physical balance and gait, leg strength, fear of falling and falls efficacy of the community-dwelling elderly. Method: The design of this study was a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. There were 20 subjects in the experimental group and 21 in the control group. The fall prevention program consists of HSEP and fall related education. The intervention was performed for once a week in the senior citizen center and twice a week at home for 8 weeks. Results: There were significant differences in physical balance and gait, leg strength(hip extensor, hip flexor, knee flexor, ankle plantarflexor, ankle dorsiflexor) and falls efficacy between the experimental group and control group. Conclusion : The fall prevention program applying HSEP used in this study was very effective in increasing physical balance and gait, leg strength and falls efficacy. Finally this study would recommended that a fall prevention program applying HSEP should be extended to community facilities such as elderly welfare center and nursing home.

• The Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.48-57
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• 2004

Introduction : The purposes of this study was to examine physical function and psychological status in the elderly caused by a fall. Method : The study was designed as a descriptive survey. Its subjects consisted of the 299 elderly over 65 years. Collected data were analyzed by the SPSS 10.0 program package. Results : The result of this study are as follows : 1) The score for ADL was significantly lower in the fall group. 2) Grip strength was significantly lower in the fall group. 3) Lapse of the motion sitting and standing was significantly longer in the fall group. 4) One-leg-standing time with the eyes open and closed was significantly shorter in the fall group. 5) Return time of 3m walk was significantly longer in the fall group. 6) The score for dizziness was significantly higher in the fall group. 7) The score for fear for a fall and depression were significantly higher in the fall group. 8) The score for falls efficacy was significantly lower in the fall group. Conclusion: ADL, muscle strength, balance, dizziness, fear for a fall, falls efficacy and depression turned out to be closely related to the fall of the elderly. Therefore, it would be required to develop and applicate the fall prevention program regarding these above risk factors.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.432-440
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• 2003

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to examine 1) functional status at 2 months after hip fracture surgery 2) health care utilization after a fall episode and 3) fear of falling experienced during first 2 months after a fall episode. Method: With a convenient sample of 99 elderly from six university or general hospitals with hip fracture from a fall, data were collected at 2-3 days before discharge and at 2 months after hip fracture surgery. Result: 1) At 2 months after hip fracture from a fall, significant proportion (25.3%) of elderly was not able to walk indoors. 2) Average length of hospital stay was 27.6 days with a range of 8 to 86 days. About 51% subjects received physical therapy during hospital stay, and only 6.1% subjects received physical therapy following discharge from the hospital. 3) Significant proportion (72.7%) had fear of falling after the fall episode. About 51% reported that they restricted their activities because they had fear of falling. Conclusion: Fall is a dreaded event which result in loss of independence and restriction of activity. Development and application of fall prevention program is critical especially for those with risk factors of fall.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.213-220
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• 2024

Fall detection and prevention technologies play a pivotal role in ensuring the well-being of individuals, particularly those living independently, where falls can result in severe consequences. This paper addresses the challenge of accurate and quick fall detection by proposing a Bayesian probability-based measure applied to surface electromyography (sEMG) signals. The proposed algorithm based on a Bayesian filter that divides the sEMG signal into transient and steady states. The ratio of posterior probabilities, considering the inclusion or exclusion of the transient state, serves as a scale to gauge the dominance of the transient state in the current signal. Experimental results demonstrate that this approach enhances the accuracy and expedites the detection time compared to existing methods. The study suggests broader applications beyond fall detection, anticipating future research in diverse human-robot interface benefiting from the proposed methodology.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.41-61
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• 2018

Purpose: Falls are one of the most frequent health events in medical institutions, however, they can be predicted and prevented. The Quality Improvement Nurse Society clinical practice guideline Steering Committee developed the Clinical Practice Guideline for the assessment and prevention of falls in adult people. The purpose of this study was to assess the risk factors for falls in adults aged 19 years and older, to present an evidence for preventing falls, formulate a recommendations, and indicators for applying the recommendations. Methods: This clinical practice guideline was developed using a 23-step adaptation method according to the Handbook for clinical practice guideline developer (version 1.0) by National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency. Evidence levels and recommendation ratings were established in accordance to SIGN 2011 (The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network). Results: The final 15 recommendations from four domains were derived from experts' advice; 1) assessment of risk factor for falls in adult 2) preventing falls and reducing the risks of falls or falls-related injury 3) management and reassessment after a person falls 4) leadership and culture. Conclusion: This clinical practice guideline can be used as a basis for evaluation and prevention of fall risk factors for adults, to formulate recommendations for fall risk assessment and fall prevention, and to present monitoring indicators for applying the recommendations.

• The Journal of Korean society of community based occupational therapy
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.31-42
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• 2015

Objective : The aim of this study is to prove the effects of mental practice in balance ability of elderly population, and to investigate the possibility of application as an effective intervention method for fall prevention. Methods : This study provided mental practice to 3 subjects over 65 years old who have experienced fall, but do not have cognitive dysfunctions and independent in gait without any use of assistive devices from July to October, 2013. Within the individual case study, 4 sessions of initial baseline process (A), 5 sessions of mental practice (B), 4 sessions of re-initial baseline process (A') were proceeded using ABA design. Independent variable used mental practice for enhancing balance ability and fall efficacy in elderly population, and dependent variable were Berg Balance Scale (BBS) to find out the change in overall balance ability, Fall Efficacy Scale (FES) to see the change in fall efficacy, One-Leg Standing test(OLS), and Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) to determine the changes in both static and dynamic balance. Analysis of the results were provided via mean value and graph. Results : After the application of mental practice method, all of the subjects have shown increase in fall efficacy baseline values, and in addition, overall balance ability and both static and dynamic balances either increased or maintained. Conclusion : This study demonstrated that mental practice has positive effects on fall efficacy improvement and maintenance in elderly, thereby suggesting mental practice for fall prevention in elderly populations.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.155-160
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• 2005

Background: Falls are a major cause of emergency room visits. Injury secondary to falls is a largely preventable public health problem. This study helps to better understand the epidemiology of falls from height, then develops prevention strategies. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 192 patients admitted to the emergency department of Konyang university hospital with a history of falls from January 2004 to December 2004. Collected data included the patient's age, gender, height of fall and method, outcome of management, Injury Severity Score(ISS). Results: According to the characteristics of height of fall, the ISS was higher when the patient fell from height of 2 meters or more($13.79{\pm}12.17$) than not($8.13{\pm}9.25$)(p<0.05). There were positive correlation between mean age and ISS(p<0.001, r=0.7). To gender, ISS was higher in the male group($12.73{\pm}11.78$) than the female group($8.48{\pm}10.00$)(p<0.05). Conclusion: Falls often results from multiple concurrent problems including environmental and behavioral factors. This study suggests that we need to improve the occupational environment, especially above 2meters, for decreasing injuries of fall from heights. Also we consider the prevention of children from injuries of fall from heights.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.107-120
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• 2009

Background : To estimate fall incidence rate and associated factors in inpatients from a general hospital. Method : The data were collected from 104 fall incident reports developed by the patient safety committee in a general hospital in Seoul from 01 January 2007 to 31 December 2008. Information included general characteristics of patients, factors related to fall, types, places, circumstances and outcomes of fall. Result : The incidence rate of fall, which was 4.4 per 1,000 total discharged patients and 0.5 per 1,000 patient-days, was much lower than that of several hospitals in the United States. The difference may reflect the different incidence reporting system of each hospital. Fall-prone patients were, in general, $$\geq_-$$65 years of age, had an alert mental status, were ambulatory with some assistance, and were dependent on and ambulatory device. High incidence of falls was associated with patients with circulatory disease. The majority of fall events usually occurred in bed or at the bedside in the patient's room, and occurred more often during the night than during the day or evening. Risk factors of fall were use of drugs (antihypertensive or neuropsychiatric drugs) and environmental factors (e.g., overly high bed height, surrounding objects, inadequate fitness shoes and slippery floor). Physical injury occurred in 43.3% of fall events, which typically required diagnosis of injury and treatment such as suturing. Risk factors for repeated falls were use of a neuropsychiatric drug (odds ratio=13.9) and gait disturbance (odds ratio=91.2). Risk factors for fall-related injury were alert mental status (odds ratio=3.3 times more likely to fall than those who were drowsy or in a stupor) and general weakness(odds ratio=3.3 times more likely to fall than those who were not generally weak). Conclusion : Medical and nursing staff should be aware of the fall risk factors of hospitalized patients and should intensively pursue preventative strategies. Development of fall prevention education based on these results is recommended.