Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT): is routinization problematic?

BACKGROUND: The introduction and wide application of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) has triggered further evolution of routines in the practice of prenatal diagnosis. 'Routinization' of prenatal diagnosis however has been associated with hampered informed choice and eugenic attitudes or outcomes. It is viewed, at least in some countries, with great suspicion in both bioethics and public discourse. However, it is a heterogeneous phenomenon that needs to be scrutinized in the wider context of social practices of reproductive genetics. In different countries with their different regulatory frameworks, different patterns of routines emerge that have different ethical implications. This paper discusses an ethics of routines informed by the perspectives of organizational sociology and psychology, where a routine is defined as a repetitive, recognizable pattern of interdependent organizational actions that is carried out by multiple performers. We favour a process approach that debunks the view - which gives way to most of the concerns - that routines are always blindly performed. If this is so, routines are therefore not necessarily incompatible with responsible decision-making. Free and informed decision-making can, as we argue, be a key criterion for the ethical evaluation of testing routines. If free and informed decision-making by each pregnant woman is the objective, routines in prenatal testing may not be ethically problematic, but rather are defensible and helpful. We compare recent experiences of NIPT routines in the context of prenatal screening programmes in Germany, Israel and the Netherlands. Notable variation can be observed between these three countries (i) in the levels of routinization around NIPT, (ii) in the scope of routinization, and (iii) in public attitudes toward routinized prenatal testing. CONCLUSION: An ethics of routines in the field of prenatal diagnostics should incorporate and work with the necessary distinctions between levels and forms of routines, in order to develop sound criteria for their evaluation.

Routinization, within-occupation task changes and long-run employment dynamics.

The present study adds to the literature on routinization and employment by capturing within-occupation task changes over the period 1980-2010. The main contributions are the measurement of such changes and the combination of two data sources on occupational task content for the United States: the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) and the Occupational Information Network (O*NET). We show that within-occupation reorientation away from routine tasks: i) accounts for 1/3 of the decline in routine-task use; ii) accelerated in the 1990s, decelerated in the 2000s but with significant convergence across occupations; and iii) allowed workers to escape the employment and wage decline, conditional on the initial level of routine-task intensity. The latter finding suggests that task reorientation is a key channel through which labour markets adapt to various forms of labour-saving technological change.

Routinization: risk factor or marker of adjustment to negative health issues?

OBJECTIVES: Routinization reflects how older people cope with the health problems. It remains to be seen whether it should be considered as a risk factor of negative health outcomes, or rather, a mechanism of adjustment to health issues: mortality, institutionalization, dementia, disability, cognitive decline, depression and subjective health. METHODS: From longitudinal data of two large-scale French epidemiological studies, the study sample consists of 961 participants aged 77 years on average, living at home and with no neurocognitive disorder. The relationship between the level of routines measured by the Preferences for Routines Scale-Short form and the adverse health outcomes are studied considering the level of routines at baseline and in time-dependent using Cox proportional hazards models and Latent process mixed models. RESULTS: After adjustment for sociodemographic variables, the routinization score at baseline is not associated with any health outcomes while the routinization score as a time-dependent variable is significantly associated with an increased risk of dementia (hazard ratios (HR) = 1.08, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 1.02-1.15, p = 0.016) and institutionalization (HR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.03-1.36, p = 0.019), greater global cognitive decline (ß = -0.02, p = 0.001) and depressive symptoms (ß = 0.02, p = 0.023) and a decrease in subjective health (ß = 0.02, p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: The level of routines measured at a given time is not associated with long-term prediction of negative health outcomes, while in time-dependent, it reveals to be a significant predictor. It should be seen as a marker of adjustment process.

Making use of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT): rethinking issues of routinization and pressure.

First mapping the main ethical issues surrounding prenatal testing, we then analyze which concerns are specific to non-invasive methods. Presupposing the privatization premise for reproductive autonomy in fundamentally liberal societies, we go on to specify common concerns about non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) covered by the term 'routinization', and conceptually unravel the frequently expressed worry of increasing 'pressure' to test and/or terminate affected pregnancies. We argue that mindful decision-making should be a key educational goal (not only) of NIPT counseling which could be achieved through stepwise disclosure. In addition, we identify indirect social pressure as the most plausible threat to reproductive freedom. While continuous efforts need to be made to prevent such pressure - not least by ensuring balanced availability of options -, restricting testing options, and thus freedom of choice, cannot be the answer to this concern. Lastly, we suggest abandoning the vague term 'routinization' and instead focusing on specified concerns to enable a fruitful debate.

Validation of Short Form of Preferences for Routines Scale: Norms in Older Adults.

High level of preferences for routines is an indicator of psychological vulnerability in older adults. However, the psychometric properties of the Preferences for Routines Scale (PRS) initially validated in a small selected sample of older adults revealed a low Cronbach's α (.50) in the general elderly population. The present study aims to improve the PRS using the data from the "AMI" and "PAQUID" population-based studies. Among 718 older persons, the most discriminative items are identified using item response theory methodology. A short form of the PRS (PRS-S) included five of the ten items of the original scale and showed improved internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The factors associated with the PRS-S are similar to those found in previous studies. Norms are provided according to gender and educational level. The reduction of the number of items tends to facilitate its administration and promote its use in both clinical and epidemiologic research contexts.

The influence of experiential knowledge and societal perceptions on decision-making regarding non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT).

BACKGROUND: Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) allows women to access genetic information about their fetuses without the physical risk inherent to prior testing methods. The advent of NIPT technology has led to concerns regarding the quality and process of informed consent, as a view of NIPT as "routine" could impair women's considered approach when choosing to undergo testing. Prior studies evaluating NIPT decision-making have focused on the clinical encounter as the primary environment for acquisition of biomedical information and decision formation. While important, this conceptualization fails to consider how additional sources of knowledge, including embodied and empathetic experiential knowledge, shape perceptions of risk and the societal use of NIPT. METHODS: In order to address this issue, qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 25 women who had been offered NIPT were performed. Participants came from a well-resourced, rural setting near a major academic medical center in the US. Women were categorized by NIPT use/non-use as well as whether their described decision-making process was perceived as making a significant decision requiring contemplation ("significant") versus a rapid or immediate decision ("routinized"). A constructivist general inductive approach was used to explore themes in the data, develop a framework of NIPT decision-making, and compare the perceptions of women with differential decision-making processes and outcomes. RESULTS: A framework for decision-making regarding NIPT was developed based on three emergent factors: perceptions of the societal use of NIPT, expected emotional impact of genetic information, and perceived utility of genetic information. Analysis revealed that perceptions of widespread use of NIPT, pervasive societal narratives of NIPT use as "forward-thinking," and a perception of information as anxiety-relieving contributed to routinized uptake of NIPT. In contrast, women who displayed a lack of routinization expressed fewer stereotypes regarding the audience for NIPT and relied on communication with their social networks to consider how they might use the information provided by NIPT. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study reveal the societal narratives and perceptions that shape differential decision-making regarding NIPT in the U.S. CONTEXT: Understanding and addressing these perceptions that influence NIPT decision-making, especially routinized uptake of NIPT, is important as the use and scope of this technology increases.

Sustainable by design: a systematic review of factors for health promotion program sustainability.

BACKGROUND: Sustaining health promotion programs (HPP) is critical to maintain their intended health benefits, community capacity, and to optimize resources and investment. However, not all programs are sustained beyond their initial implementation period. This is partly due to uncertainty regarding sustainability: lack of a clear definition; infrequent use of a sustainability framework; and lack of understanding of the factors that influence sustainability. The aim of this systematic review is to identify barriers and facilitators that promote or inhibit the sustainability of HPP, particularly those that can be considered in program planning. METHODS: Two search strategies were used: 1) electronic database searching; and 2) grey literature searching. Inclusion criteria included papers published since 1998, in English, focusing on the sustainability of HPP that explicitly used a sustainability framework and specifically reported on facilitators and barriers to sustainability. Exclusion criteria included papers that addressed environmental, system or sector sustainability. Quality assessment was conducted on all included papers and a quality assessment tool was developed for grey literature. Data analysis included a thematic analysis, using an a priori framework to initially code barriers and facilitators, which were then grouped into factors for HPP sustainability. Factors were then analyzed for frequency, importance, and relevance, and categorized into one of three tiers. RESULTS: Sixteen papers were included in this review. Eleven definitions of sustainability and 13 sustainability frameworks were used. A total of 83 barriers and 191 facilitators were identified and categorized into 14 factors: nine from the a priori framework, and five additional ones based on the results of our analysis. Tier 1 factors were the most important for sustainability with organizational capacity scoring the highest; tier 3, the least important. CONCLUSION: This review provides clarity regarding existing definitions of sustainability and sustainability frameworks. It identifies fourteen factors that influence program sustainability, which practitioners can consider when planning, developing and implementing HPP. In addition, it is important for practitioners to clearly articulate program elements that should be sustained, define sustainability as it relates to the context of their program, select a sustainability framework to guide their work, and consider these factors for sustainability.

The sustainability of healthcare innovations: a concept analysis.

AIM: To report on an analysis of the concept of the sustainability of healthcare innovations. BACKGROUND: While there have been significant empirical, theoretical and practical contributions made towards the development and implementation of healthcare innovations, there has been less attention paid to their sustainability. Yet many desired healthcare innovations are not sustained over the long term. There is a need to increase clarity around the concept of innovation sustainability to guide the advancement of knowledge on this topic. DESIGN: Concept analysis. DATA SOURCES: We included literature reviews, theoretical and empirical articles, books and grey literature obtained through database searching (ABI/INFORM, Academic Search Complete, Business Source Complete, CINAHL, Embase, MEDLINE and Web of Science) from 1996-May 2014, reference harvesting and citation searching. METHODS: We examined sources according to terms and definitions, characteristics, preconditions, outcomes and boundaries to evaluate the maturity of the concept. RESULTS: This concept is partially mature. Healthcare innovation sustainability remains a multi-dimensional, multi-factorial notion that is used inconsistently or ambiguously and takes on different meanings at different times in different contexts. We propose a broad conceptualization that consists of three characteristics: benefits, routinization or institutionalization, and development. We also suggest that sustained innovations are influenced by a variety of preconditions or factors, which are innovation-, context-, leadership- and process-related. CONCLUSION: Further conceptual development is essential to continue advancing our understanding of the sustainability of healthcare innovations, especially in nursing where this topic remains largely unexplored.

On reflexivity and the conduct of the self in everyday life: reflections on Bourdieu and Archer.

This article provides a critique of the concept of reflexivity in social theory today and argues against the tendency to define agency exclusively in terms of reflexivity. Margaret Archer, in particular, is highlighted as a key proponent of this thesis. Archer argues that late modernity is characterized by reflexivity but, in our view, this position neglects the impact of more enduring aspects of agency, such as the routinization of social life and the role of the taken-for-granted. These concepts were pivotal to Bourdieu and Giddens' theorization of everyday life and action and to Foucault's understanding of technologies of the self. We offer Bourdieu's habitus as a more nuanced approach to theorizing agency, and provide an alternative account of reflexivity. Whilst accepting that reflexivity is a core aspect of agency, we argue that it operates to a backdrop of the routinization of social life and operates from within and not outside of habitus. We highlight the role of the breach in reflexivity, suggesting that it opens up a critical window for agents to initiate change. The article suggests caution in over-ascribing reflexivity to agency, instead arguing that achieving reflexivity and change is a difficult and fraught process, which has emotional and moral consequences. The effect of this is that people often prefer the status quo, rather than to risk change and uncertainty.

Target-the-Two: a lab-in-the-field experiment on routinization.

The paper investigates the cognitive determinants of routinization and creativity by means of a lab-in-the-field experiment run at the 20th edition of a mass gathering festival in Italy ("La Notte della Taranta"). Subjects play repeatedly the puzzle version of the Target-The-Two game (32 hands). In hands 1-16, the strategy that is optimal given the card distribution is always the same and it is the easiest to be discovered. Conversely, in hands 17-32, subjects are exposed to games where the optimal contextual strategy may differ from the one with which they have been made familiar. We investigate whether and how, in hands 17-32, subjects remain routinized on the familiar strategy, or creatively choose a different one. We define as "experts" those subjects who played the optimal contextual strategy in the overwhelming majority of hands 1-16. In hands 17-32, we find several subjects playing the familiar strategy even when it is not the optimal one, regardless of whether they are experts or not. This shows that routinization is deep-rooted in the cognitive individual process. Furthermore, routinization pays off only for inexpert subjects: creative inexpert subjects are slower and they fail to find the optimal contextual strategy in several hands. Among expert subjects instead, creative subjects, although still slower, need less moves than routinized ones to find the optimal contextual strategy.

The Effects of Routinization on Radical and Incremental Creativity: The Mediating Role of Mental Workloads.

An important question within the creativity literature is whether routinization inhibits individuals' creative performance. Scholars have concentrated on complex and demanding jobs that promote creativity while ignoring the potential effects of routinized activities on creativity. Moreover, little is known about the impact of routinization on creativity, and the few studies investigating this matter have reported inconclusive and inconsistent results. This study investigates the mixed impacts of routinization on creativity by examining whether routinization has a direct impact on two dimensions of creativity or an indirect impact through the mediating role of mental workloads, such as mental effort load, time load, and psychological stress load. Based on multisource and time-lagged data from 213 employee-supervisor dyads, we found a positive direct effect of routinization on incremental creativity. In addition, routinization had both an indirect effect on radical creativity via time load and on incremental creativity via mental effort load. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Noninvasive Prenatal Testing: Views of Canadian Pregnant Women and Their Partners Regarding Pressure and Societal Concerns.

BACKGROUND: Noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) provides important benefits yet raises ethical concerns. We surveyed Canadian pregnant women and their partners to explore their views regarding pressure to test and terminate a pregnancy, as well as other societal impacts that may result from the routinization of NIPT. METHODS: A questionnaire was offered (March 2015 to July 2016) to pregnant women and their partners at five healthcare facilities in four Canadian provinces. RESULTS: 882 pregnant women and 395 partners completed the survey. 64% of women anticipated feeling no pressure to take the test if it were offered routinely, and 39% were not concerned about routinization leading to increased pressure to terminate a pregnancy of a fetus with Down Syndrome. Regarding other social concerns possibly resulting from routinization, pregnant women were most concerned regarding a reduction in resources available for people with Down Syndrome and their families and least concerned regarding a decrease in the population of people with Down Syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings reflect the concerns expressed by pregnant women and their partners, both personal (pressure to test, pressure to terminate) and societal (e.g., regarding potential negative impact on people with disabilities and their families). Even if most women were not concerned about feeling pressured to test due to NIPT routinization, a large minority express concerns that should not be taken lightly. Moreover, a majority of respondents were concerned regarding pressure to terminate pregnancies due to NIPT routinization as well as regarding most societal impacts they were queried on, especially the possible future reduction in resources available for people with DS and their families. Canadian policy-makers should consider these potential negative ramifications of NIPT and ensure that appropriate social policies accompany its implementation.

Identifying relevant concepts and factors for the sustainability of evidence-based practices within acute care contexts: a systematic review and theory analysis of selected sustainability frameworks.

BACKGROUND: There is growing recognition among healthcare professionals that the sustainability of evidence-based practices (EBPs) within different settings is variable and suboptimal. Understanding why a particular EBP might be sustained in one setting and not another remains unclear. Recent reviews illustrate the need to identify and analyze existing frameworks/models/theories (F/M/Ts) that focus solely on the sustainability of EBPs in specific healthcare settings, such as acute care, to illuminate key determinants and facilitate appropriate selection to guide practice and research. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review to extract sustainability frameworks. This involved using two available syntheses of the literature and a systematic search of four databases from January 2015 to July 2018: CINHAL, MEDLINE, Embase, and ProQuest. We included studies published in English, and if they included sustainability F/M/Ts recommended for use in acute care or an unspecified healthcare organization/setting. F/M/Ts explicitly recommended for use in public health and or community settings were excluded. We then conducted a comparative analysis of F/M/Ts using a modified theory analysis approach, to understand the theoretical underpinnings of each F/M/T, their determinants and concepts hypothesized to influence the sustained use of EBPs within an acute care context. RESULTS: Of 2967 identified citations from the 2 available syntheses and the systematic review, 8 F/M/Ts met the inclusion criteria. We identified 37 core factors, of which 16 were recorded as common factors (occurring within 4 or more of the 8 included F/M/Ts). All factors grouped into 7 main themes: innovation, adopters, leadership and management, inner context, inner processes, outer context, and outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review is the first to include a comprehensive analysis of healthcare sustainability F/M/Ts for the sustained use of EBPs in acute care settings. Findings reveal insights into sustainability as a "process or ongoing stage of use" following initial implementation, suggesting this construct should be added to the definition of sustainability. Results provide a resource of available F/M/Ts and hypothesized factors to consider for acute care team members who are planning or currently implementing EBPs with the goal of improving patient outcomes. It also provides a basis for future research on sustainability in acute care.

Developing a comprehensive definition of sustainability.

BACKGROUND: Understanding sustainability is one of the significant implementation science challenges. One of the big challenges in researching sustainability is the lack of consistent definitions in the literature. Most implementation studies do not present a definition of sustainability, even when assessing sustainability. The aim of the current study was to systematically develop a comprehensive definition of sustainability based on definitions already used in the literature. METHODS: We searched for knowledge syntheses of sustainability and abstracted sustainability definitions from the articles identified through any relevant systematic and scoping reviews. The constructs in the abstracted sustainability definitions were mapped to an existing definition. The comprehensive definition of sustainability was revised to include emerging constructs. RESULTS: We identified four knowledge syntheses of sustainability, which identified 209 original articles. Of the 209 articles, 24 (11.5%) included a definition of sustainability. These definitions were mapped to three constructs from an existing definition, and nine new constructs emerged. We reviewed all constructs and created a revised definition: (1) after a defined period of time, (2) a program, clinical intervention, and/or implementation strategies continue to be delivered and/or (3) individual behavior change (i.e., clinician, patient) is maintained; (4) the program and individual behavior change may evolve or adapt while (5) continuing to produce benefits for individuals/systems. All 24 definitions were remapped to the comprehensive definition (percent agreement among three coders was 94%). Of the 24 definitions, 17 described the continued delivery of a program (70.8%), 17 mentioned continued outcomes (70.8%), 13 mentioned time (54.2%), 8 addressed the individual maintenance of a behavior change (33.3%), and 6 described the evolution or adaptation (25.0%). CONCLUSIONS: We drew from over 200 studies to identify 24 existing definitions of sustainability. Based on these definitions, we identified five key sustainability constructs, which can be used as the basis for future research on sustainability. Our next step is to identify sustainability frameworks and develop a meta-framework using a concept mapping approach to consolidate the factors and considerations across sustainability frameworks.

The birth and routinization of IVF in China.

How can it be that China, with its history of restrictive family planning policies, is today home to some of the world's largest IVF clinics, carrying out as many as 30,000 cycles annually? This article addresses how IVF was developed in China during the early 1980s, becoming routinized at the same time as one of the world's most comprehensive family planning programmes aimed at preventing birth was being rolled out. IVF was not merely imported into China; rather it was experimentally developed within China into a form suitable for its restrictive family planning regulations. As a result, IVF and other procedures of assisted reproductive technology have settled alongside contraception, sterilization and abortion as yet another technology of birth control.

The mediating effect of job stress in the relationship between work-related dimensions and career commitment.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine associations between career commitment, job stress, and work-related dimensions of work routinization, role clarity, social support, and promotional opportunity. Design/methodology/approach - In all, 408 employees holding supervisor or above level job positions in Sri Lanka responded to the survey. For the data analysis, structural equation modelling with maximum likelihood estimation was performed. Findings - Job stress fully mediates the relationship between role clarity and career commitment while partially mediates the relationships between work routinization, social support, and the lack of promotional opportunity and career commitment. Originality/value - An investigation into relationships between work-related dimensions and career commitment holds a number of implications in the current business environment where employee commitment may be shifting from the organization to one's career.

A unit-level perspective on the long-term sustainability of a nursing best practice guidelines program: An embedded multiple case study.

BACKGROUND: Best practice guidelines are a tool for narrowing research-to-practice gaps and improving care outcomes. There is some empirical understanding of guideline implementation in nursing settings, yet there has been almost no consideration of the longer-term sustainability of guideline-based practice improvements. Many healthcare innovations are not sustained, underscoring the need for knowledge about how to promote their survival. PURPOSE: To understand how a nursing best practice guidelines program was sustained on acute healthcare center nursing units. METHODS: We undertook a qualitative descriptive case study of an organization-wide nursing best practice guidelines program with four embedded nursing unit subcases. The setting was a large, tertiary/quaternary urban health center in Canada. The nursing department initiated a program to enhance patient safety through the implementation of three guidelines: falls prevention, pressure ulcer prevention, and pain management. We selected four inpatient unit subcases that had differing levels of program sustainability at an average of almost seven years post initial program implementation. Data sources included 39 key informant interviews with nursing leaders/administrators and frontline nurses; site visits; and program-related documents. Data collection and content analysis were guided by a framework for the sustainability of healthcare innovations. RESULTS: Program sustainability was characterized by three elements: benefits, routinization, and development. Seven key factors most accounted for the differences in the level of program sustainability between subcases. These factors were: perceptions of advantages, collaboration, accountability, staffing, linked levels of leadership, attributes of formal unit leadership, and leaders' use of sustainability activities. Some prominent relationships between characteristics and factors explained long-term program sustainability. Of primary importance was the extent to which unit leaders used sustainability-oriented activities in both regular and responsive ways to attend to the relationships between sustainability characteristics and factors. CONCLUSIONS: Continued efforts are required to ensure long-term program sustainability on nursing units. Persistent and adaptive orchestration of sustainability-oriented activities by formal unit leadership teams is necessary for maintaining best practice guidelines over the long term. Leaders should consider a broad conceptualization of sustainability, beyond guideline-based benefits and routinization, because the development of unit capacity in response to changing circumstances appears essential.

Sentido y proceso del temor a caer en ancianos / Meaning and fear process to fall down in the elderly / Sentido e processo do temor a cair em anciãos

Introducción: el temor a caer es una preocupación mayor tanto de los ancianos y sus familias como del personal de la salud. Todas sus consecuencias son importantes para la salud, el bienestar y la calidad de vida de los ancianos. La gran mayoría de los estudios se han desarrollado desde una perspectiva epidemiológica y solo raras excepciones desde una perspectiva cualitativa. Materiales y métodos: se utilizó el método cualitativo de la teoría fundamentada. Se hizo un muestreo teórico por etapas (abierto, discriminado y selectivo) hasta lograr la saturación de los conceptos emergentes. Las entrevistas se llevaron a cabo con 37 ancianos mayores de 60 años, en tres ciudades de la región cafetera colombiana. El análisis respeta los principios de la teoría fundamentada: codificación abierta, axial y selectiva para la construcción del modelo teórico. Resultados y discusión: el temor a caer es un concepto difícil de definir, impreciso y ambiguo. Los participantes evocan un temor difuso, sin objeto preciso y sin causa evidente, cuya amenaza es oscura, vaga, con una duración ilimitada y se acompaña de sentimientos de impotencia. El temor a caer en los ancianos genera mucha angustia, y para controlarlo los ancianos deben transformarlo en temores secundarios. El manejo del miedo a caer es un proceso que exige una reorganización de la vida cotidiana y tiene un carácter eminentemente biográfico: para enfrentar este temor, los ancianos hacen ajustes que les permiten integrar en sus vidas tanto el temor a caer como los cambios que este trae consigo. Estos cambios se armonizan a través de interacciones. Conclusión: el miedo a caer es un sentimiento que modifica profundamente la relación del anciano consigo mismo y con su entorno. Así, el temor a caer en los ancianos es más que una emoción y su manejo implica cambios: ajustes biográficos y reorganización de la vida cotidiana. Cambios que se construyen a través de interacciones que se desarrollan en diferentes esferas de la vida social. Esta nueva manera de concebir el temor a caer impone nuevos desafíos para su manejo y para evitar las consecuencias negativas.

Introduction: The fear of falling is a great worry for both, the elderly and their families and the health professionals. All its consequences are important for the health, welfare and quality of life of the elderly. Most of the studies have been developed from an epidemiologic perspective and only some rare exceptions from the qualitative perspective. Materials and methods: A qualitative method of the grounded theory was used. A theoretical sampling in different stages (open, discriminated and selective) was carried out in order to achieve saturation of the emergent concepts. The interviews were performed to 37 older than 60 people in three cities in the Colombian Coffee Region. The analysis respects the principles of the grounded theory: open, axial and selective coding for the construction of the theoretical model. Results and discussion: The fear of falling is a difficult to define, vague and ambiguous concept. The participants recall a vague, without a precise objective or evident cause fear whose threat is dark, hazy, with limited duration and accompanied by helplessness feelings. The fear of falling in the elderly generates a lot of anguish and in order to control it they have to transform it in secondary fears. The management of the fear of falling is a process that demands a reorganization of daily life and has an imminently biographic character: to face this fear the elderly make adjustments that allow them to incorporate in their lives both, the fear of falling and the changes it brings along. These changes harmonize through interactions. Conclusion: The fear of falling is a feeling that deeply modifies the relationship of an elderly with himself and with his environment. This way, the fear of falling in the elderly is more than an emotion and its management implies changes: biographic adjustments and daily life reorganization. These changes are built through interactions that develop in different spheres of the social life. This new way to conceive the fear of falling imposes new challenges for its management and to avoid the negative consequences.

Introdução: O temor a cair é uma preocupação maior tanto dos anciãos e suas famílias como do pessoal da saúde. Todas suas conseqüências são importantes para sua saúde, e bem-estar e qualidade de vida dos anciãos. A Grão maioria dos estudos tem sido desenvolvidos desde uma perspectiva epidemiológica e só raras exceções desde a perspectiva qualitativa. Materiais e métodos: utilizou se o método qualitativo da teoria fundamentada. Fez-se uma amostragem teórica por etapas (Aberto, discriminativo e seletivo) até lograr a saturação dos conceitos emergentes. As entrevistas levaram se acabo com 37 anciãos maiores de 60 anos, em três cidades na região cafeteira colombiana. O analise respeita os princípios da teoria fundamentada: codificação aberta, axial, e seletiva para a construção do modelo teórico. Resultados e discussão: O temor a cair é um conceito difícil de definir, impreciso e ambíguo. Os participantes evocam um temor difuso, sem objeto preciso e sem causa evidente, cuja ameaça é escura, vaga, com uma duração ilimitada e se acompanha de sentimentos de impotência. O temor a cair nos anciãos gera muita angustia, e para controlar-los os anciãos devem transformar-lo em temores secundários. O manejo do medo a cair é um processo que exige uma reorganização da vida cotidiana e tem um caráter eminentemente biográfico: para enfrentar este temor, os anciãos fazem ajustes que lhes permitem integrar em suas vidas tanto o temor a cair como os câmbios que este traz com este. Estes câmbios se harmonizam a través de interações. Conclusão: O medo a cair é um sentimento que modifica profundamente a relação do ancião com ele mesmo e com seu entorno. Assim, o temor a cair em os anciãos é mais que uma emoção e seu manejo...