“If you fell, bye and God bless”: elderly’ feelings, behaviour and the found solutions after a fall at home where they live alone

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the feelings and behaviors of elderly who live alone in a post-fall event and their solutions to prevent further accidents. A qualitative research was carried out using techniques of participant observation, interviews and documentation in notebook, photos, audio and videos. The sample is comprised of ten individuals (four men and six women) aged between 65 and 85 years residing in single-person households, who suffered a fall inside their home in the last five years. Five of the 10 individuals interviewed changed the spatial configuration of the residence (adaptations and minor reforms) and the other five declared that they are avoiding to carry out the activity that led them to fall. All stressed a good degree of autonomy in the activities of daily living (ADL), but considered the fall as an inevitable phenomenon and, they know about risks. The loss of autonomy and the possibility of not residing alone anymore were cited as elements of fear.