Date of Award

2-15-2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Graduate Department of Clinical Psychology

First Advisor

Daniel Rodriguez, Psy.D.

Second Advisor

Kenneth Logan, Psy.D.

Third Advisor

Kathleen Gathercoal, Ph.D.

Abstract

Falls in the geriatric population are continuing to increase around the world. Along with this, COVID-19 caused significant distress and changes in many older adult populations living in care facilities. Our study used archival data to determine if an association existed between fall rates at a specific care facility before COVID-19, during COVID-19, and during an outbreak of COVID-19 at the facility. An analysis of variance and Bonferroni’s post-hoc analysis was conducted, which found falls tended to be lower during outbreaks at the facility compared to pre-COVID-19 times. Reasons for this finding may be due to restrictions on activities and social gatherings placed by the state and the care facility, which likely led to less opportunities to fall. The increase in risk factors stemming from these restrictions (e.g., loneliness, sedentary lifestyle) may lead to falls increasing as these restrictions lift. Implementation of strategies to prepare for this potential to lower risk factors will be important to consider for this facility.

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