Distinguishing characteristics of falls among community-dwelling Cantonese-speaking older adults in Southern China: A community-based observational study

Background: The prevalence and characteristics of falls among community-dwelling Cantonese-speaking older adults in Southern China have not been previously investigated. Design and methods: The observational study enrolling 212 community-dwelling Cantonese-speaking older adults was conducted via self-administered questionnaire. Participants’ demographics, fall characteristics, and the belief and attitude score regarding falls were collected and analyzed. Results: The prevalence of falls was 30.66%. Poor self-care ability and the linguistic barrier during fall prevention education were associated with history of both single fall and multiple falls. Fall prevention education combining text, video, interviews, and consultation delivered in Cantonese was protective factor associated with single fall and multiple falls. Population experiencing multiple falls expressed unconcern for the fall-prone attire, fall-prone indoor environments and fall risk-increasing drugs. Conclusion: The community-dwelling Cantonese-speaking older adults demonstrated distinct fall characteristics and notably high fall prevalence. Linguistic barrier could be the noteworthy risk factor for falls, which should be improved with tailored fall prevention programs and thoughtful health policies.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  Journal of Public Health Research

• Publication date

  2025-10-01

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Sociology

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1177/22799036251388565PMID 41189562PMCID 12580517
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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