Geriatric Nursing · Jul 17, 2026

The mediating role of falls efficacy in fall risk among older adults: A secondary analysis

By Ou J, Sun L, Wang Z

OBJECTIVES: To examine whether falls efficacy mediates the associations between intrinsic risk factors and fall-risk profiles among older adults. METHODS: Data from 422 community-dwelling older adults were analyzed. Falls efficacy was assessed using the Modified Falls Efficacy Scale (MFES), and fall-risk profile was assessed using the Self-Rated Fall-Risk Questionnaire (FRQ). Associations were examined using nonparametric analyses, and mediation analyses were conducted using the R mediation package with 5000 bootstrap resamples. RESULTS: Lower MFES scores and higher FRQ scores were both associated with older age, poorer physical performance, multimorbidity, post-awakening symptoms, fall history, vision impairment, hearing impairment, and impaired lower-limb sensation. Falls efficacy significantly mediated the associations between these factors and FRQ scores. The proportion mediated ranged from 15.0% for fall history to 59.0% for TUGT. Relatively high mediated proportions were also observed for hearing impairment (46%), age (38%), FSBT (35%), and vision impairment (35%). CONCLUSION: Falls efficacy may represent an important psychological pathway linking several intrinsic risk factors to higher FRQ scores among older adults.

doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2026.104187 PubMed 42468435 Populations