{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]],"date-time":"2026-03-04T06:06:07Z","timestamp":1772604367631,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"24","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,8]],"date-time":"2025-12-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1765152000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Healthcare"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Falls are a major cause of injury, functional decline, and reduced quality of life among older adults, posing a significant public health challenge. Social prescribing is gaining relevance in gerontology, offering structured strategies to engage individuals in preventive activities, including fall prevention strategies, through engagement in community-based activities. Aim: To examine older adults\u2019 perception of the relevance of personal protection and development activities (e.g., prevention against falling) and compare sociodemographic, behavioural, and engagement profiles between those who agree and those who disagree with its relevance. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 613 older adults aged 65\u201393 years. Data collection included sociodemographic, health-related, and behavioural\/social engagement variables (including perceptions regarding the benefits of social prescribing and interest in community-based activities). For this analysis, participants were dichotomized based on their agreement with the relevance of personal protection and development activities (e.g., prevention against falling). Of the 569 participants included, 538 (94.5%) agreed with its relevance and 31 (5.5%) disagreed. Descriptive and exploratory analyses were conducted to compare the two groups across variables. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to explore independent predictors of agreement across sociodemographic, behavioural, social prescribing, and health-related variables. Results: Significant differences were observed between the groups in awareness of active ageing (p = 0.018), volunteering (p &lt; 0.001), participation in social and community activities (p &lt; 0.001), and hobbies like gardening, fishing, or cooking (p = 0.002). Those who agreed with the importance of personal protection and development activities were significantly more likely to value a range of initiatives, including social activities in recreational organizations, physical activity in the community (e.g., hiking), artistic and creative activities (e.g., visual arts, music), technical or technological activities (e.g., do-it-yourself, computers), and cultural enrichment activities (e.g., visiting museums), (p &lt; 0.001). Multivariate analyses showed no effects of sociodemographic or health-related factors, whereas behavioural and engagement-related variables\u2014including volunteering, hobbies, and several social prescribing activities\u2014significantly predicted agreement with the relevance of personal protection and development activities. Discussion: The findings suggest that older adults who perceive fall prevention as relevant are more actively engaged in diverse health-promoting activities, including volunteering, hobbies, and community-based programmes. This pattern may reflect higher health literacy, stronger social networks, and proactive attitudes towards ageing. Conclusions: Perceptions of fall prevention are closely linked to broader patterns of engagement in health-promoting activities among older adults. Recognizing and addressing differences in how these activities are valued can inform more inclusive and targeted gerontological interventions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/healthcare13243209","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,8]],"date-time":"2025-12-08T14:52:24Z","timestamp":1765205544000},"page":"3209","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Perceptions of Fall Prevention and Engagement in Social Prescribing Activities Among Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study in Portugal"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6279-1421","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cristiano","family":"Matos","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Sa\u00fade Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1600-190 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Nursing Research, Innovation and Development Centre of Lisbon (CIDNUR), Nursing School of Lisbon (Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Lisboa), University of Lisbon, 1600-190 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7417-1732","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cristina Rosa","family":"Baixinho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nursing Research, Innovation and Development Centre of Lisbon (CIDNUR), Nursing School of Lisbon (Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Lisboa), University of Lisbon, 1600-190 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Center for Innovative Care and Health Technology (ciTechcare), 2414-016 Leiria, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4807-5904","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Violeta","family":"Alarc\u00e3o","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Sa\u00fade Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1600-190 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Centro de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o e Estudos de Sociologia (CIES-ISCTE), Instituto Universit\u00e1rio de Lisboa (ISCTE), 1649-026 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0288-6653","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Adriana","family":"Henriques","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Sa\u00fade Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1600-190 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Nursing Research, Innovation and Development Centre of Lisbon (CIDNUR), Nursing School of Lisbon (Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Lisboa), University of Lisbon, 1600-190 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Ricardo Oliveira","family":"Ferreira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Sa\u00fade Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1600-190 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Nursing Research, Innovation and Development Centre of Lisbon (CIDNUR), Nursing School of Lisbon (Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Lisboa), University of Lisbon, 1600-190 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3646-9057","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tiago","family":"Nascimento","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Sa\u00fade Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1600-190 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Nursing Research, Innovation and Development Centre of Lisbon (CIDNUR), Nursing School of Lisbon (Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Lisboa), University of Lisbon, 1600-190 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9183-9121","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Miguel","family":"Arriaga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Sa\u00fade Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1600-190 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Cat\u00f3lica Research Centre for Psychological\u2014Family and Social Wellbeing (CRC-W), Faculdade de Ci\u00eancias Humanas, Universidade Cat\u00f3lica Portuguesa, 1649-023 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Tatiana","family":"Alves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Epidemiology Department, 1649-016 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Set\u00fabal, Escola Superior de Sa\u00fade, 2910-761 Set\u00fabal, Portugal"},{"name":"Instituto de Ci\u00eancias Sociais, Universidade de Lisboa, 1600-189 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8316-5035","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paulo","family":"Nogueira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Sa\u00fade Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1600-190 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Nursing Research, Innovation and Development Centre of Lisbon (CIDNUR), Nursing School of Lisbon (Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Lisboa), University of Lisbon, 1600-190 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2727-4402","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andreia","family":"Costa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Sa\u00fade Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1600-190 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Nursing Research, Innovation and Development Centre of Lisbon (CIDNUR), Nursing School of Lisbon (Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Lisboa), University of Lisbon, 1600-190 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"69","DOI":"10.1007\/s43465-019-00037-x","article-title":"Falls in older adults are serious","volume":"54","author":"Vaishya","year":"2020","journal-title":"Indian J. 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