@article{ref1,
title="Construction of an instrument to enable the assessment of the risk of falls in older outpatients: a quantitative methodological study",
journal="Journal of Advanced Nursing",
year="2024",
author="Wu, Wenbin and Zhou, Qi and Gao, Qiang and Li, Hong and Zhang, Jie and Wu, Juan and Shen, Ji and Li, Jing and Shi, Hong",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="OBJECTIVES: To develop an instrument to facilitate the risk assessment of falls in older outpatients. <br><br>DESIGN: A quantitative methodological study using the cross-sectional data. <br><br>METHODS: This study enrolled 1988 older participants who underwent comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) in an outpatient clinic from May 2020 to November 2022. The history of any falls (≥1 falls in a year) and recurrent falls (≥2 falls in a year) were investigated. Potential risk factors of falls were selected by stepwise logistic regression, and a screening tool was constructed based on nomogram. The tool performance was compared with two reference tools (Fried Frailty Phenotype; CGA with 10 items, CGA-10) by using receiver operating curves, sensitivity (Sen), specificity (Spe), and area under the curve (AUC). <br><br>RESULTS: Age, unintentional weight loss, depression measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-2, muscle strength measured by the five times sit-to-stand test, and stand balance measured by semi- and full-tandem standing were the most important risk factors for falls. A fall risk screening tool was constructed with the six measurements (FRST-6). FRST-6 showed the best AUC (Sen, Spe) of 0.75 (Sen = 0.72, Spe = 0.69) for recurrent falls and 0.65 (Sen = 0.74, Spe = 0.48) for any falls. FRST-6 was comparable to CGA-10 and outperformed FFP in performance. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Age, depression, weight loss, gait, and balance were important risk factors of falls. The FRST-6 tool based on these factors showed acceptable performance in risk stratification. IMPACT: Performing a multifactorial assessment in primary care clinics is urgent for falls prevention. The FRST-6 provides a simple and practical way for falls risk screening. With this tool, healthcare professionals can efficiently identify patients at risk of falling and make appropriate recommendations in resource-limited settings. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution was received, due to our study design.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0309-2402",
doi="10.1111/jan.16059",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jan.16059"
}