Background
Although the role of unintentional injuries as a cause of death in adults is known, there is limited knowledge about such adults’ behaviors. This study aims to investigate the frequency of and factors affecting unintentional injuries among the elderly living in rural areas and their related behaviors.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was carried out in the rural areas of Hamadan County, Iran, in 2016. The sample consists of randomly selected 445 adults aged 60–75 years. Data collection was conducted through face-to-face interviews, using questionnaires.
Results
One hundred and forty-three participants (34.7%) experienced 166 injury occurrences. The injuries occurred more in females than in males. There were more mild and severe injuries (48.2% and 31.3%, respectively) than moderate ones (20.5%). The most frequent mechanism of injuries was accidental falls (64.5%). There was a significant relationship between using aid devices and injuries (P=0.001). Among the most applied injury preventive measures as reported by the elderly, crossing streets safely and the use of proper lighting at night had the highest percentages (81.5% and 69.7%, respectively). However, the use of protective handles and plastic flooring in bathrooms in order to prevent slipping had the lowest percentages (less than 1.0%).
Conclusion
The injuries among the elderly in this study were important health concerns. Injury-related factors should be considered in the development of injury prevention programs.

Citations

• Prevalence and Risk Factors of Unintentional In-Home Injuries in Older Adults
  Ok-Hee Cho, Hyekyung Kim
  Medicina.2025; 61(7): 1235.     CrossRef
• Factors Affecting Home Injuries in Older Adults: An Analysis Using Binary Logistic Regression
  Mehdi Abbasian, Homayoun Sadeghi‐bazargani, Hossein Matlabi, Naser Havaei, Mina Hashemiparast, Hamid Allahverdipour
  Health Science Reports.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef
• The Effectiveness of the Safety and Home Injury Prevention for Seniors: A Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial
  Ok-Hee Cho, Hyekyung Kim, Kyung-Hye Hwang
  Healthcare.2025; 13(21): 2695.     CrossRef
• “A Familiar but Unsafe Shelter” – Older Adults’ Experience of Fall-Related Injuries at Home: A Phenomenological Study
  Ok-Hee Cho, Sanghyun Bae, Jeongeun Yoon
  Journal of Community Health Nursing.2025; : 1.     CrossRef