Impact of the abandonment of assistive technologies for mobility on the incidence of serious falls in older adults living at home: Results of the ECOCAT study

Purpose

To examine the impact of discontinuing the use of assistive technology for mobility (ATM) devices on the 6-months incidence of falls in older adults (OA) living at home.

Materials and methods

A medico-socioeconomic survey was performed to collect information on the quality of life and well-being of older adults, before and 6 months after being loaned an ATM device. Personal data (medical, social, and economic) were collected via a geriatric survey.

Results

In all, 102 OA participated in the study. Over the 6-months observation period, 17 (n = 81) serious falls were recorded among participants who were using their ATM device optimally; in those who discontinued device use, 12 falls (n = 21) were recorded (57.1%; p = 0.001). Factors significantly associated with falls at home were living in an urban area (odds ratio [OR]: 11.46; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.48; 88.98; p = 0.020), an Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale score > 4 (OR: 34.04; 95% CI: 1.59; 727.86; p = 0.024), and discontinuation of ATM device use (OR: 17.41; 95% CI: 2.59; 117.02; p = 0.003).

Conclusion

Discontinuation of ATM device use was associated with an increased risk for serious falls.

[The adaptation of society to ageing today]

Living at home as long as possible, adapting 'old age' policies to dependent elderly people, using new technologies to enable elderly people to remain at home and funding dependence are just some of the challenges facing today's society. The law relating to the adaptation of society to ageing was constructed around the notion of autonomy. This article presents an overview of this complex patient management.