Risk factor for accidental injuries within senior citizens' homes: analysis of the Canadian Survey on Ageing and Independence

Using data from the Survey on Ageing and Independence (SAI), risk factors for unintentional injuries occurring within the homes of individuals older than 65 are identified. For the SAI, conducted by Statistics Canada in 1991, data were collected on a representative sample of approximately 20,000 individuals between ages 45 and 102. For each household contacted, one individual older than 45 was interviewed via the telephone. For the present analysis, only individuals older than 65 (n = 10,059) were used. Approximately 5% of senior citizens experienced an injury that limited their activity for at least 1 day. Using logistic regression, the following risk factors for injury were identified: education, alcohol consumption, smoking, rest and sleep patterns, support, and interactions between age and gender, activity limitations and age, and home maintenance and gender. The present findings are important to the body of research concerning injuries among older adults. The results expand current univariate analysis of data identifying risk factors for injuries within the literature and provide comprehensive information pertaining to risk factors for accidental injuries at the multivariate level. Identification of risk factors provides health care professionals, particularly front line nurses, with insight into factors that, if modified, have the potential to decrease accidental injuries and improve or maintain quality of life.

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