Artikel
Effectiveness of preventive home visits to reduce falls in old age – A randomized controlled trial
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Autoren
Veröffentlicht: | 25. Oktober 2013 |
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Gliederung
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Background: Falls in older people are a major public health issue, but the underlying causes are complex. We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of preventive home visits (PHVs) as a multi-factorial, individualized strategy to reduce falls in community-dwelling older people.
Method: Data were derived from a prospective randomized controlled trial with follow-up examination after 18 months. Two hundred thirty participants (80+ years of age) with functional impairment were randomized to intervention and control groups (IG/CG). The IG received up to three PHVs including risk assessment (PHV 1), home counseling intervention (PHV 2), and booster session (PHV 3). The CG received no PHVs. Structured interviews at baseline and follow-up provided information concerning falls in both study groups. Random-effects Poisson regression evaluated the effect of PHVs on the number of falls controlling for covariates.
Results: Random-effects Poisson regression showed a significant increase in the number of falls between baseline and follow-up in the CG [incidence rate ratios (IRR) =1.96] and a significant decrease in the IG (IRR=0.63) controlling for age, gender, family status, care level, and impairment in activities of daily living.
Discussion/Conclusion: Results indicate that a PHV program can be effective in reducing falls in community-dwelling older people.