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. 2023 Aug 9;9(1):139.
doi: 10.1186/s40814-023-01366-3.

Hypnosis to reduce fear of falling in hospitalized older adults: a feasibility randomized controlled trial

Clémence Cuvelier  1 , Mélany Hars  1   2 , Maria Pia Zamorani-Bianchi  1 , François R Herrmann  1   3 , Catherine Ducharne Wieczorkiewicz  1   3 , Dina Zekry  3 , Gabriel Gold  1 , Andrea Trombetti  4   5
Affiliations

Hypnosis to reduce fear of falling in hospitalized older adults: a feasibility randomized controlled trial

Clémence Cuvelier et al. Pilot Feasibility Stud. .

Abstract

Background: Fear of falling is associated with numerous negative health outcomes in older adults and can limit the rehabilitation process. Hypnosis is now recognized as an effective treatment for a variety of conditions, especially anxiety and pain, which can be integrated safely with conventional medicine. The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a hypnosis intervention in hospitalized older adults to reduce fear of falling.

Methods: In this feasibility randomized controlled trial, 32 older patients, hospitalized in geriatric rehabilitation wards, were randomly allocated (1:1 ratio) to either an intervention group (hypnosis, 2 sessions, one per week, plus usual rehabilitation program) or a control group (usual rehabilitation program only). Clinical assessors and statistician were blinded to group allocation. Primary outcomes were recruitment rate, retention rate, and adherence to the intervention. Exploratory outcomes, analyzed according to the intention-to-treat principle, included impact of hypnosis on fear of falling (assessed by a new scale perform-FES), functional status, in-hospital falls, and length of hospital stay.

Results: Recruitment rate was 1.3 patients per week. The recruitment of the population sample was achieved in 5.5 months. The retention rate did not differ significantly between groups and a good adherence to the hypnosis intervention was achieved (77% of patients received the full intervention). No adverse event related to the hypnosis intervention was observed. Regarding exploratory clinical outcomes, no differences were found between groups on any outcome.

Conclusion: Hypnosis is feasible and well accepted in a geriatric hospitalized population undergoing rehabilitation. Further pilot work should be conducted, with an increased number of hypnosis sessions, before conducting a full-scale trial to conclude whether, or not, hypnosis is effective to reduce fear of falling.

Trial registration: NCT04726774.

Keywords: Fear of falling; Feasibility study; Hypnosis; Older adults; Rehabilitation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of the feasibility randomized controlled trial
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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