"I fell out of my standing": Falls narratives, ageism and socio-medical understanding of falls in older persons

There is a wealth of research addressing falls aetiology in older persons. This may be framed within western world, ageing demographics and financial concerns that require evidence of effective bio-medical interventions (Kingston 2000). Drawing on older persons’ falls narratives and building on a small body of work (see, for example, Horton and Arber 2004; Kingston 2000; McKee et al 1999; Yardley 2004), this paper highlights ways in which fallers view falls and calls for complementary, social and cultural analyses. In so doing, negative culturally and linguistically embedded notions of falling in relation to ageing, usefulness, personal control, autonomy, social embarrassment and social standing, may be challenged. In turn, the ‘faller’ may position him- or herself beyond connotations of ‘loss of control’ and decline (Horton and Arber 2004; McKee et al 1999).