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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2013:8:697-702.
doi: 10.2147/CIA.S43284. Epub 2013 Jun 12.

Effectiveness of preventive home visits in reducing the risk of falls in old age: a randomized controlled trial

Tobias Luck  1 , Tom Motzek, Melanie Luppa, Herbert Matschinger, Steffen Fleischer, Yves Sesselmann, Gudrun Roling, Katrin Beutner, Hans-Helmut König, Johann Behrens, Steffi G Riedel-Heller
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effectiveness of preventive home visits in reducing the risk of falls in old age: a randomized controlled trial

Tobias Luck et al. Clin Interv Aging. 2013.

Abstract

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 as a multifactorial, individualized strategy to reduce falls in community-dwelling older people.

Methods: Data were derived from a prospective randomized controlled trial with follow-up examination after 18 months. Two hundred and thirty participants (≥80 years of age) with functional impairment were randomized to intervention and control groups. The intervention group received up to three preventive home visits including risk assessment, home counseling intervention, and a booster session. The control group received no preventive home visits. Structured interviews at baseline and follow-up provided information concerning falls in both study groups. Random-effects Poisson regression evaluated the effect of preventive home visits 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 control group (incidence rate ratio 1.96) and a significant decrease in the intervention group (incidence rate ratio 0.63) controlling for age, sex, family status, level of care, and impairment in activities of daily living.

Conclusion: Our results indicate that a preventive home visiting program can be effective in reducing falls in community-dwelling older people.

Keywords: evaluation; falls; home visits; prevention; randomized controlled trial.

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Figures

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Figure 1
Sample attrition and sample.
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