Fear of Falling and its Impact on Activity - Version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Does psychological flexibility moderate the relationships between frailty, fear of falling and activity restriction for people aged 65 and older?
IRAS ID
330337
Contact name
Mairi Lawson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 4 months, 4 days
Research summary
The WHO advocates for older people adding 'life to their years' not just 'years to their life'. One way to do this is to support older people to stay active. One reason activity levels can decline as people age is due to falls and frailty.
There are possible psychological reasons that frailty affects activity levels in older people. Fear of falling is one way this can happen as it can lead to reduction in activity levels as a way of trying to prevent a fall, which can reduce muscle strength and increase the likelihood of frailty. Also, it has been found that fear of falling increases the risk that someone will have a fall, even if they do not have any movement problems.
Given the psychological nature of fear of falling, this study will investigate psychological aspects which could improve future falls prevention information. One aspect is a skill called psychological flexibility, which has been found to be a helpful skill when faced with stressful situations and for reducing psychological distress.
This research aims to explore whether increasing psychological flexibility would be a useful target for older adults who are experiencing fears about falling. Adults aged 65 and over will be recruited from community locations (such as GPs, libraries, places of worship) via posters or via online newsletter from a 3rd sector organisation (Age Scotland). They will be asked to complete some questions about themselves and then 5 questionnaires at one time point. They will be able to take participant materials home to complete the measures or have an option to complete the survey online. Altogether this will take them less than 30 minutes.
REC name
London - Fulham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/PR/1319
Date of REC Opinion
1 Dec 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion