ABSTRACT

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between falls and the demographic and health-related characteristics of older adults as well as their home environments. Methods: A total of 9,411 community-dwelling older adults were retrieved from the 2020 National Survey of Older Koreans. The relationships among falls, demographic and health-related characteristics, and home environment were analyzed using step-wise hierarchical logistic regression models. The dependent variable was fall events during the past 12 months, and the independent variables were demographics, health-related characteristics, and home environments. Results: The majority of the sample individuals were 65-74 years in age (n = 6,069, 64.49%) and female (n = 5,626, 59.78%). A total of 585 (6.2%) older adults experienced a fall during the past year. Among the older adults, those living in another house type (odds ratio [OR] = 3.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.85-8.27), having no spouse ([OR] = 2.30, 95% [CI] 1.37-3.85), and having no jobs ([OR] = 2.13, 95% [CI] 1.49-3.04) were likely to have a fall during the past 12 months. Conclusion: The findings of this study can inform clinicians regarding the fall-related characteristics in community-dwelling older adults and help practitioners prioritize treatment plans for home modifications.