Introduction:

The family is an important social support network for the elderly, since great physical and social changes are experienced at this stage. The older adult, when hospitalized in addition to his illness, faces risks such as falls, which generate additional damage to the patient, altering his recovery and stay.

Objective:

To determine the association between family functionality and risk of falls in hospitalized older adults.

Methods:

Analytical, comparative, cross-sectional study in adults over 65 years of age hospitalized in the emergency room of a second level hospital. The sample was calculated with the formula for two proportions, n=61 subjects per group. Group 1: elderly with a functional family, group 2: elderly with a dysfunctional family; the sampling was non-probabilistic for convenience. The variables studied were age, sex, schooling, family functionality, risk of falling, indication of a family member for permanence, and having an accompanying family member. With prior informed consent, the family APGAR test for functionality and the Newman scale for risk of falls were applied to the elderly. The descriptive statistical analysis was performed with frequencies, means, percentages and 95 % CI; inferential analysis with student's t test, chi-square, and odds ratio.

Results:

The average age was 70.90 (95 % CI 69.4-72.4) and 73.77 (95 % CI 71.8-75.5) years. In both groups, men and primary school level predominate. 70.5 % of patients in group 2 do not have an accompanying family member despite the fact that 49.2 % had a permanent family member indicated. There is a higher risk of falls in the dysfunctional family group with 50.8 % and 27.9 % for the functional family group (p=0.030).

Conclusions:

A protective factor for older adults with a low risk of hospital fall is the functional family and also an accompanying family member during their hospitalization.

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