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. 2023 Jun 1;26(2):247-252.
doi: 10.5770/cgj.26.656. eCollection 2023 Jun.

The Effect of a Standing Intervention on Falls in Long Term Care: a Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Molly Gallibois  1   2 , Grant Handrigan  3 , Linda Caissie  4 , Kendra Cooling  1   3 , Jeffrey Hébert  1   5 , Pamala Jarrett  6   7 , Chris McGibbon  1   8 , Emily Read  9 , Martin Sénéchal  1   2 , Danielle R Bouchard  1   2
Affiliations

The Effect of a Standing Intervention on Falls in Long Term Care: a Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Molly Gallibois et al. Can Geriatr J. .

Abstract

Background: Older adults in long term care (LTC) spend over 90% of their day engaging in sedentary behaviour. Sedentary behaviour may exacerbate functional decline and frailty, increasing the risk for falls. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of a 22-week standing intervention on falls among LTC residents at 12-month follow-up.

Methods: This was a planned secondary analysis of the Stand if You Can randomized controlled trial. The original trial randomized 95 participants (n = 47 control; n = 48 intervention) to either a sitting control or a supervised standing intervention group (100 minutes/week) for 22 weeks. Falls data were available to be collected over 12 months post-intervention for 89 participants. The primary outcome was a hazard of fall (Yes/No) during the 12-month follow-up period.

Results: A total of 89 participants (average age 86 years ± 8.05; 71.9% female) were followed for 12-months post-intervention. Participants in the intervention group (n=44) had a significantly greater hazard ratio of falls (2.01; 95% CI = 1.11 to 3.63) than the control group (n=45) when accounting for the history of falls, frailty status, cognition level, and sex.

Conclusion: Participants who received a standing intervention over 22 weeks were twice as likely to fall 12 months after the intervention compared with the control group. However, the prevalence of falls did not surpass what would be typically observed in LTC facilities. It is imperative that future studies describe in detail the context in which falls happen and collect more characteristics of participants in the follow-up period to truly understand the association between standing more and the risk of falls.

Keywords: clinical trial; falls; frailty; sedentary behaviour.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURES We have read and understood the Canadian Geriatrics Journal’s policy on disclosing conflicts of interest and declare that we have none.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Participant flow diagram
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Hazard risk of falls over 12-month follow up for the intervention group vs. the control group
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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