related to a pervasive fear of fall and injury, and the impact of fear of falling on activity

and everyday life. The unpredictability of falls and the resultant general acceptance of

fear became evident, making strategies to manage falls and fear of falling necessary.

Each of these themes are described below. See Table 4-9 for original content analysis

frequencies derived from 33 month one interviews and 22 from month 6 interviews.

Table 4-9. Content analysis frequencies (derived from 55 qualitative interviews)
Primary theme Secondary Themes Frequency
Falls as a Paralysis/hemiplegia 15 27%
Physical Event Fell at time of stroke 22 40%
 Balance/stability 21 38%
 Dizziness 17 31%
 Decreased participation 14 25%
 Injury (such as hip fracture or head injury) 6 11%
 Talk about falls (stumble, trip, wabble, etc) 45 82%
 Total from 55 interviews 140 occurrences
Fearing Falls Fear, afraid, concern 32 58%
 Caregiver afraid will fall 16 29%
 Afraid of injury 6 11%
 Total from 55 interviews 108 occurrences
Strategies for Walker/cane/WC/wall/other 35 63%
Managing Fear Relies on others 9 17%
of Falling Being careful 27 49%
 Total from 55 interviews 152 occurrences

Onset of falling with the stroke event

 Falling at the time of a stroke is a common experience and maybe a harbinger of

development of fear of falling. For some, having a fall signaled a possible second stroke,

thus fear of falling and fear of another stroke became intertwined. Others discussed the

fall at the time of the stroke and the experience of laying on the floor without someone to

help them. Fear associated with a possible fall continued as individuals were concerned

about falling in the future and being left on the floor for substantial periods of time. One

participant stated "Yes, I fell. It was horrible; I lost control of my left arm, and my hand,