Fear of falling from the perspective of affected persons : a systematic review and qualitative meta-summary using Sandelowski and Barroso's method

Abstract

Background: Fear of falling (FoF) affects a large number of older people, whether they have a history of falls or not. This has an impact on their lives. FoF is a potentially modifiable factor, which has been identified as one of the most important threats to older people's autonomy. Objectives: To gain a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon, we con- ducted a systematic review and meta-summary. The available evidence from qualita- tive research exploring how people experience FoF and how FoF affects daily living was aggregated. Methods: We followed the approach by Sandelowski and Barroso (2007) as a method to aggregate knowledge based on an exhaustive literature search. We searched the databases CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and SSCI systematically for relevant articles as well as grey literature until September 2020. Out of the included studies, findings were extracted, edited, grouped and abstracted into meta-findings. Finally, the mani- fest frequency effect size of each abstracted meta-finding was calculated. Results: Out of 2978 identified studies, 15 met our inclusion criteria, which were pub- lished between 1993 and 2017 and included a total of 276 participants. We extracted 578 findings, and the abstraction process resulted in 183 meta-findings. We identi- fied three main topics: ‘Triggers and reasons for FoF identified by affected people’, ‘Consequences attributed to FoF’ and ‘Strategies to manage FoF in daily life’. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that FoF has a far-reaching impact on the lives of those affected. With the aggregation of the existing qualitative data with the appli- cation of the frequency effect size, we were able to identify three areas of particular importance to those affected: (1) controlling the risk, (2) creating a safe environment and (3) staying independent. Implications for practice these three areas of particular importance to those affected should be taken into account when revisiting or creating new interventions to prevent or reduce FoF.