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. 2022 Jun 25:9:20556683221110866.
doi: 10.1177/20556683221110866. eCollection 2022 Jan-Dec.

Impact of the abandonment of assistive technologies for mobility on the incidence of serious falls in older adults living at home: Results of the ECOCAT study

Abdoul Razak Sawadogo  1   2   3   4 , Jean-François Nys  1 , Estelle Tran  2 , Caroline Gayot  1   2   3 , Sophie Boyer  1   2   3 , Noëlle Cardinaud  1   2   3 , Clémence Thebaut  5 , Achille Tchalla  1   2   3
Affiliations

Impact of the abandonment of assistive technologies for mobility on the incidence of serious falls in older adults living at home: Results of the ECOCAT study

Abdoul Razak Sawadogo et al. J Rehabil Assist Technol Eng. .

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the impact of discontinuing the use of assistive technology for mobility (ATM) devices on the 6-months incidence of falls in older adults (OA) living at home.

Materials and methods: A medico-socioeconomic survey was performed to collect information on the quality of life and well-being of older adults, before and 6 months after being loaned an ATM device. Personal data (medical, social, and economic) were collected via a geriatric survey.

Results: In all, 102 OA participated in the study. Over the 6-months observation period, 17 (n = 81) serious falls were recorded among participants who were using their ATM device optimally; in those who discontinued device use, 12 falls (n = 21) were recorded (57.1%; p = 0.001). Factors significantly associated with falls at home were living in an urban area (odds ratio [OR]: 11.46; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.48; 88.98; p = 0.020), an Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale score > 4 (OR: 34.04; 95% CI: 1.59; 727.86; p = 0.024), and discontinuation of ATM device use (OR: 17.41; 95% CI: 2.59; 117.02; p = 0.003).

Conclusion: Discontinuation of ATM device use was associated with an increased risk for serious falls.

Keywords: Assistive Technologies; devices; mobility; occupational therapists; older adults; serious falls.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow chart of study participants, November 2016 to August 2019, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The distribution of ATM in the two groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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