What Causes Fear of Falling?
As previously mentioned, fear of falling among the elderly might be viewed as an appropriate and even protective response to a likely and potentially devastating event. There is no doubt that fear of injury resulting from a fall is real and common. Nevertheless, in focus groups older adults have described falls as sentinel events for institutionalization12. Thus, to some degree fear of falling is related to a fear of loss of independence. Indeed, it has been estimated that 40% of nursing home admissions are precipitated by falls. Moreover, it is often those closest members of an elder’s support group – family and health care providers – who interpret the fall event as an indicator of the need for institutionalization. Accordingly, some elders might hesitate to talk to members of their support group about their concerns about and experiences of falling. This can only increase the impact of this fear and probably accounts for the prevalence and intensity of fear of falling among communit
