WEB-BASED SYSTEM FOR ASSESSING RISK FACTORS FOR FALLS IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING ELDERLY PEOPLE USING THE ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS

Abstract

Falls occur frequently among older people and represent the most common cause of injury-related morbidity and mortality in later life. Preventing falls is an important way to reduce injuries, hospitalizations, and injury-related morbidity and mortality among older people. The research literature has identified hundreds of risk factors for falls among elderly people. Prioritizing risk factors for falls is useful for designing effective and efficacious prevention programs. The aim of this study was to use the Analytic Hierarchy Process to develop a hierarchy of risk factors for falls based on the knowledge and experience of experts working in this field. We designed and developed a web portal for participants to submit responses to electronic questionnaires in order to reach the highest number of respondents quickly and to reduce errors in responding. We contacted the person responsible for the Falls sections of four scientific societies. Finally, we propose a correction method to modify respondents relative importance on based on the coherence of their responses, in order not to exclude experts who had submitted the questionnaire twice.