The Balance of Life: Two Case Studies on Falls and Fall-Prevention in Older Persons

Abstract

The study was performed with the aim of understanding personal and professional strategies for fall-prevention. Using the case study as the research design, two cases with embedded units of analysis were investigated. The points of reference were two community dwelling older persons, who had both experienced falling accidents. Data was collected by interviewing the two narrators and five health and social workers, and analysing documents. The stories of falling accidents were told with fall as a metaphor for death. The two protagonists' understanding and prevention of falling accidents depended on their backgrounds, life experiences, living conditions, and the circumstances of old age, as they attempted to re-establish balance in life. The study showed no direct relationship between the staff's professional efforts to prevent falls and the narrators' own strategies, but indirectly, the professionals created a supportive network; a platform of continuity where the efforts of the staff and older persons complemented each other. The staff had no clear approaches to addressing the issues raised by the accidental falls or to the prevention of falls. To strengthen fall-prevention efforts nurses could be used to contribute both person-centred and narrative approaches by incorporating evidence-based knowledge and reflective knowhow.