Paper Title
BURDEN OF FALLS AND COST OF FALLS AMONG COMMUNITY DWELLING OLDER ADULTS FROM TELANGANA

Abstract
Back ground: Fall related injuries are leading cause of morbidity and mortality is a serious public health concern. Consequences of falls can be physical disability, social, psychological and more importantly financial losses and health care expenditure is a growing burden especially in late adulthood with post-retirement and limited socio-economic and physical resources. Despite the dire need of research in this area, there is paucity of research in countries like India. This study evaluated the cost of falls and related burden among the adults 60 years and above age living in the selected urban and rural communities of Telangana. Materials and Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted to estimate the costs of fall-related injury and its perceived impact among the older population in the Rangareddy (urban) and Sangareddy (rural) district of Telangana. The population was randomly selected from purposively selected urban and rural areas. Survey was done using semi structured questionnaire to collect data regarding cost of falls and related burden. Results: Among the total 344 participants, 98 (28.48%) older adults reported a history of fall in past one year. 98 participants who had incurred fall associated expenses, among them around 51 participants (52%) had an expenditure of more than Rs 10000, 15 participants (15.3%) had expenses between Rs 5000-10000, 8 participants (8.1%) had spent an amount between Rs 1000-5000 and only 6 participants (6%) had an expenditure lesser than Rs 1000. Linear Regression analysis showed a significant association of total cost of fall with many variables. Conclusion: Falls among the elderly are a growing public health concern in India, particularly for individuals aged 65 years and above, the burden increases. Fall injury related burden in multidimensional, with considerable impact on healthcare expenditure and is a significant barrier to active aging. Addressing and preventing fall risk and related burden is an essential need requiring attention in public health policies and health programs. Keywords - Fall, cost , rural areas, health care expenditure.