Walking aids and fear of falling in older adults: the case from the Surabaya Wredha Nursing Home

Purpose: This study analyzes the relationship between walking aids and
the fear of falling on the elderly. Method: The research design was
observational analytic with a cross-sectional approach involving 155
elderly living in Surabaya Wredha Nursing Home. The sampling technique
uses a proportional random sampling method. We analyzed existing data
using the contingency coefficient test with a significance level of 0.05.
Results: The results of statistical tests showed a relationship between the
risk of falling and fear of falling with a correlation value of 0.367 with a
significant level of 0.000 (p <0.05), a positive direction showed by the
value of B = 1.365. Conclusion: The use of walking aids has a meaningful
relationship with the fear of falling in the elderly. Based on these findings,
the orphanage manager must provide walking aids and train them for their
use. The elderly already using walking aids need the training to strengthen
the arm and leg muscles to be more stable in using walking aids.
Keywords: walking aids; fear of falling; elderly