ABSTRACT
Falls among the elderly are one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. One that causes falls is impaired cognitive function.The aim of the study was to find out the relationship between cognitive function and the risk of falling among the elderly. Method: a cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in the elderly. The population in this study is the elderly who live in the work area of Community Health Center in Banda Aceh, totaling 1,043 elderly scattered in 5 villages. The study sample size was estimated according to the Slovin formula, the sample size was estimated 91 respondents but 100 elderly adults were studied . The sample size in each village was proportional technique sampling. The sampling was done by non-random sampling and accidental sampling technique. The data collection technique was done by guided interview using questionnaire translated into Indonesia language, that is, Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ) which measure the cognitive function and Time Up and Go Test (TUG Test) measuring the risk of falling in the elderly. It showed that there is a correlation between the cognitive function and the risk of falling in the elderly with P value= (0.00<0.05), it indicates that there is a correlation between the cognitive function and the risk of falling in the elderly. The value of correlation coefficient (r) is 0.811. Conclusion: Generally, the falling correlates significantly with the impaired cognitive function. Therefore, it needs to plan and develop health awareness programs to improve cognitive good to prevent falls in the elderly.
