Falls among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Determining the Relationship Between Social Networks and the Risk for Falls

Falls among community-dwelling older adults is a big public health problem, which have an effect on older adults' health, independence, and quality of life. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between social networks and the risk for falls among community-dwelling older adults. This was a descriptive correlational study, which utilized a cross-sectional survey for the data collection. The dependent and independent variable of this study were the risk for falls among the community-dwelling older adults, and the strength and type of social networks respectively. In this study, 218 community-dwelling older adults were recruited, who were living in the south-central Minnesota in the United States. A paper survey was distributed, which included the Demographic Tool, Fall Risk Questionnaire, and Lubben Social Network Scale. However, the total number of participants who completed the survey was 184 older adults. The results of this study showed that there is a weak negative relationship between the strength of social networks and the risk for falls, but was not statistically significant. It is recommended to conduct future research with the inclusion of gender as an independent variable to understand their impact on the relationship between social networks and the risk for falls. In the future, a tool that measures the impact of structural and functional dimensions of social networks on the risk for falls is necessary to understand the relationship between social networks and the risk for falls.