Abstract:

To determine older adults' attitudes toward fall risks and home modification to alter these risks, we assessed participants' houses and used semi-structured interviews to explore their fall and injury history, fall risk, and attitudes toward modifying their residence to reduce their fall risk. Using a grounded theory approach, interview transcripts were coded by three investigators and analyzed inductively. The authors identified themes related to participants' perceptions about their falls and discovered an unanticipated and pervasive lack of interest in modifying their residences to reduce their fall risk. Generally, participants did not see their falls as a problem, did not believe they needed assistance to prevent falls, did not believe modifying their houses would prevent falls, and did not like others telling them to change their houses. Implications of the study suggest that fall-prevention strategies are inherently linked to an elder's home-self relationship, challenging the utility of simple checklists of household risks.