Research Information System
Journal of Surgery and Medicine , vol.7, no.3, pp.234-238, 2023 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
Abstract
Background/Aim: Patients who have undergone brain surgery are at risk of falling. Fear of falling causes
an increase in the risk of falling and a decrease in movement and daily life activities. However, no
previous research has investigated the fear of falling experienced by patients who have undergone brain
surgery or the factors that affect it. This study aims to examine the relationship between fear of falling and
pain, cognitive status, functional mobility, anxiety, depression, and socio-demographic and clinical
characteristics in patients who have undergone brain surgery.
Methods: This cross-sectional study included 115 patients who had undergone brain surgery. The data
were collected via a Patient Information Form, the Fear of Falling Scale, the Visual Analogue Scale, the
Mini-Mental State Examination, the Itaki Fall Risk Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the
Glasgow Coma Scale and the Timed Up and Go Test. IBM SPSS 22.0 software was used for descriptive
statistics, correlation, and stepwise multiple linear regression analyses.
Results: Of the 115 patients, 73.1% were afraid of falling. Multiple linear regression analysis of the fear of
falling in patients who had undergone brain surgery reveals that age (β=0.217, P=0.004), number of
postoperative mobilizations (β=-0.141, P=0.031), a reported history of falling (β=0.155, P=0.032), the
Timed Up and Go Test (β=0.372, P<0.001), and anxiety (β=0.358, P<0.001) were significant predictors of
fear of falling. These variables explained 63% of the common variance.
Conclusion: Age, number of mobilizations, falling experience, functional mobility, and anxiety level can
affect the fear of falling in patients after brain surgery. To mitigate this fear, it is important to plan care
with reference to these variables from the time of the brain surgery until the patient is discharged. In
addition, there is a need for further studies on falling and the fear of falling after brain surgery.
Keywords: fear of falling, brain surgery, pain, cognitive status, functional mobility, anxiety, depression