Association between Prevention from Going Out and Incidence of Falls among Community-Dwelling Older Adults during COVID-19 Pandemic.

To prevent falls, community-dwelling older adults must maintain regular physical activities. This study aimed to explore the association between the prevention from going out and the incidence of falls among community-dwelling older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a prospective cohort study that consisted of 381 individuals aged 65 years or older, living in a local community in Japan, and ranging from being independent to being physically and cognitively frail. The finding revealed that among those who had been going out five or more times weekly pre-pandemic, the prevention from going out at the time of the first state of emergency (SOE) (AOR = 6.84; 95%CI = 1.51-31.02), having history of falls (AOR = 7.35; 95%CI = 1.81-29.84), participating in group gatherings (AOR = 6.09; 95%CI = 1.48-25.12), living with spouses (AOR = 0.08; 95%CI = 0.02-0.40), and living with other than spouse (AOR = 0.15; 95%CI = 0.03-0.73) were associated with the incidence of falls. The study highlights the importance of providing regular opportunities to go out to community-dwelling older adults in order to prevent falls.

Association between participation in hospital-led community activities and sense of security in continued community living among older adults in a rural district of Japan: A cross-sectional study.

For older adults to continue living in a community, they need to have a certain sense of security, especially in terms of the availability of healthcare in the community. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore important factors of the sense of security among older adults in their continued community living, with particular attention to hospital-led community activities. The participants comprised 252 randomly sampled older adults aged 65 years or older, living in a local community in western Japan, and ranging from being independent to physically and cognitively frail. Participants' sense of security in continued community living was assessed using a modified scale from past research on cancer care. Activities provided by local community organisations and hospitals were examined. The participants' mean age was 75.0 years, 144 (57.8%) were female and 32 (13.3%) were frail. Hospital-led groups (e.g. health lectures) and individual (e.g. health counselling) activities were used by 73 (30.5%) and 76 (31.9%) participants respectively. Among participants, 174 (73.4%) had participated in activities run by the local community, such as senior day celebrations or senior centre activities. A stronger sense of security was associated with participation in hospital-led individual activities (ß = 0.171, p = .036), being a member of a neighbourhood association (ß = 0.156, p = .020), frequency of contact with family members (ß = 0.145, p = .034) and lower depression (ß = -0.269, p < .001). Participation in community hospital-led individual activities may provide older adults opportunities to discuss their health-related concerns in a community setting, and thus might enhance their sense of security. In the aged society, the role of healthcare facilities may need to be expanded to facilitate outreach for older adults in the community to enhance their sense of security and actualise ageing in place.