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Fear of falling among people who have sustained a stroke: a 6-month longitudinal pilot study.

Schmid AA, Van Puymbroeck M, Knies K, Spangler-Morris C, Watts K, Damush T, Williams LS. Fear of falling among people who have sustained a stroke: a 6-month longitudinal pilot study. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy: Official Publication of The American Occupational Therapy Association. 2011 Mar 1; 65(2):125-32.

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Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: Fear of falling (FoF) after stroke is not well understood. We assessed change in FoF over the first 6 mo after a stroke and compared 6-mo anxiety, depression, balance, and quality of life (QoL) scores between people with and without baseline FoF (at the time of hospital discharge). METHOD: Data for this longitudinal study were collected at baseline and 6 mo. Of the 28 people included at baseline, 18 remained in the study 6 mo later. RESULTS: FoF significantly decreased over time (p = .015). Participants with baseline FoF had higher 6-mo anxiety and depression scores (s = .002 and .005, respectively) and lower QoL scores (p < .001) than did those without baseline FoF. CONCLUSION: The results are suggestive of the need for occupational therapists and their colleagues to consider anxiety and depression variables in managing the needs of poststroke participants experiencing FoF.




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