Prevalence of domestic accidents with eldery the Health Family Program neighborhood in Tapejara – Rio Grande do Sul.

Abstract

This is a cross sectional study conducted with elderlies who were above 60 years old and lived in an area that includes the Unit Health Family Program (USF) of the São Paulo Neighborhood - Tapejara/RS, from December, 2005 to May, 2006. The objective of this study was to determine the risk factors of domestic accidents that happened to resident elderlies in this inclusive area. In order to reach the objectives, the following stage was developed: data collection through questionnaire structured and applied by health agents to elderlies above 60 years old, totaling 259 interviews. The descriptive and analytical analyses of the data were carried out by means of SPSS software statistical and Stata v7. Most participants are female, retired, from 60 to 69 years old and mean age of 70 (Mean Deviation: 7,74); 33.5% of the elderlies who live alone at their own houses are over 80 years old. The accident prevalence was 10.4%. Falls were the major accidents mentioned by the interviewees. The elderlies reported that most accidents occurred at the stairs, followed by the ones that took place in the bathroom and the kitchen. The risk factors associated to domestic accidents that demonstrated statistically significance (p<0,05) were the not well tied shoes, too long clothes and use of medication to sleep. The study showed the importance of adopting preventive programs that can be applied in the midst of the elderly population. Falls should be highlighted. Such proposal should integrate the practices of the collective health and the individual care. Every community should recognize that elderlies are exposed to accidents, and some home preventive measures are necessary to be adopted.