The TASBIH Self-Care Model for Fall Prevention among Older Adults in Rural Muslim Communities

Abstract

This research and development study aimed to examine the current situation, develop a self-care model, and evaluate the effectiveness of a self-care model for fall prevention among older adults following the Muslim way of life in Yi-ngo Subdistrict, Yi-ngo District, Narathiwat Province. The study was conducted in three phases. Phase 1 investigated health literacy and health behaviors among 300 older adults using a structured questionnaire, with data analyzed using descriptive statistics. Phase 2 involved the development of a self-care model, based on the findings from Phase 1 and a literature review, followed by validation of the model’s appropriateness by five experts. Phase 3 evaluated the model's effectiveness using a quasi-experimental one-group pretest–posttest design.

The Phase 3 sample comprised 42 older adults from the Hidayah Elderly Club. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired t-test, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The results revealed that most participants were female, aged 60–69 years, and had a primary school education. Overall health literacy was at a fair level, health behaviors at a very good level, and physical exercise behavior at a poor level.

The developed model, named the TASBIH Model, comprises six components: Team (T), Adaptability (A), Self-care (S), Behavior (B), Information collection (I), and Healthy (H). After implementation, fall risk prevention competency scores (mean = 43.98, SD = 7.55, IQR = 14.25) were significantly higher than before the intervention (mean = 40.62, SD = 9.42, IQR = 11.25) at the .001 level, and the number of falls decreased. These findings suggest that the TASBIH Model is effective in promoting self-care and reducing fall risk among older adults in Muslim communities.