Methods: A total of 1,113 older adults across the United States participated in FallStyles, part of the 2023 Porter Novelli ConsumerStyles survey. The survey included the Everyday Ageism Scale (a validated ageism measure for adults aged 50-80 years), Three-Key Questions to determine fall risk from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths and Injuries (STEADI) initiative, and other questions to gauge beliefs, knowledge, and intentions around falls and fall prevention. We conducted a preliminary analysis that included descriptive statistics and cross tabulations with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Total ageism scores were categorized as low, medium, and high for comparisons between groups. Analyses were conducted using SAS 9.4 to explore the relation of perceived ageism with fall-related variables.

Results/outcomes: Almost one-third (31.2% (95% CI, 28.2%-34.03%)) of older adult respondents reported ≥1 fall in the past year, and more than half (54.4% (95% CI, 51.3%-57.4%)) were at risk for future falls based on the Three-Key Questions. Half (49.6% (95% CI, 36.3%-62.9%)) of the older adults with high perceived ageism experienced one or more falls in the past year compared to 19.7% (95% CI, 15.4%-24.0%) with low perceived ageism. A higher proportion of older adults with high perceived ageism were at high risk for future falls (70.7% (95% CI, 58.5%-83.0%)) compared to those with low perceived ageism (38.3% (95% CI, 33.1%-43.6%)). A higher proportion of older adults with high perceived ageism also had an inaccurate perception of their fall risk (55.7% (95% CI, 42.5%-69.0%)) compared to those with low perceived ageism (37.2% (95% CI, 32.0%-42.3%)). Finally, a higher proportion of older adults with high perceived ageism reported being likely to talk to their healthcare provider about fall prevention (22.5% (95% CI, 11.6-33.4)) compared to those with low perceived ageism (9.4% (95% CI, 6.0%-12.8%)).

Conclusions: Higher perceived ageism was related to being at risk for falling, experiencing at least one fall in the past year, and having an inaccurate perception of fall risk. However, those with higher perceived ageism were more likely to talk to their health care provider about fall prevention which may increase their opportunity to receive prevention advice. These findings represent a preliminary analysis of a cross-sectional study. Additional longitudinal research is needed to understand the strength and direction of the relation between ageism and fall outcomes including how perceptions of ageism may inform acceptability and adoption of fall prevention strategies.