Awareness of Medication-Related Fall Risk: a Survey of Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Abstract

Specific Aims: To assess older adults’ knowledge of medications associated with an increased risk of falls and to evaluate the impact of pharmacist counseling on knowledge of medication-related fall risk. Subjects: Community-dwelling adults 60 and older. Methods: Data were collected using an online questionnaire consisting of 15 knowledge-based items to determine awareness of medication-related fall risk, four items to determine pharmacist counseling experience, fall history, and number of medications taken, and two items to collect demographic information (age and gender). Main Results: Two hundred and six community-dwelling older adults (mean age = 69.07 years, SD = 5.59) participated in the study by completing all or part of the questionnaire. The number of older adults who reported having fallen within the last five years was 90 (43.7%). The knowledge-based portion of the questionnaire was completed in its entirety by 162 older adults (80 males, 81 females, one unreported gender; mean age = 68.7 years, SD = 5.12). One hundred and nineteen of 162 (73.5%) questionnaire respondents scored below 70% on the knowledge assessment (mean score 49.3%, SD = 26.8). The 12 respondents (7.6%) who reported having received counseling from a pharmacist regarding medication-related fall risk scored significantly higher on the knowledge assessment compared to the 145 respondents who did not (mean score 61.66% versus 48.09%, p = 0.01). Conclusion: A majority of community-dwelling older adults lacked knowledge of medications associated with an increased risk of falling. However, those who had been counseled by a pharmacist demonstrated greater awareness of medication-related fall risk. Thus, pharmacist counseling of older adults regarding medications and fall risk should be promoted.