Fall-Prevention Exercises With or Without Behavior Change Support for Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A 2-Year Follow-Up of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

This study investigates the effectiveness of two fall-prevention exercise interventions targeting physical performance, activity level, fall-related self-efficacy, health-related quality of life, and falls: the Otago Exercise Programme (OEP) with and the OEP without behavior change support. In this randomized controlled trial, 175 participants were randomized into two intervention groups and one control group. A total of 124 community-dwelling older adults aged 75 and older who needed walking aids or home support participated in the 2-year follow-up. The OEP with and without support for behavior change displayed no long-term benefits on physical performance, fall-related self-efficacy, health-related quality of life, and falls compared with a control group. Although no significant differences were detected between the groups, the results implied the control group’s physical activity level decreased compared with the intervention groups at 2-year follow-up.

Evidence on physical activity and falls prevention for people aged 65+ years: systematic review to inform the WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour

“…Study selection resulted in the inclusion of an additional nine studies not in the 2019 Cochrane Review and the exclusion of 35 studies. This update includes 116 studies; the 108 studies included in the 2019 Cochrane Review and the nine new studies, since one feasibility study [22] included in the 2019 Cochrane Review was replaced with the recently published full trial [23].…”

The effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions including outdoor mobility on older adults’ physical activity, endurance, outdoor mobility and falls-related self-efficacy: systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Interventions were home-based ( n = 14) [ 18 , 21 , 41–43 , 46–50 , 52–54 , 58 ], community-based ( n = 6) [ 17 , 19 , 20 , 38 , 42 , 57 ] or included both home and community components ( n = 8) [ 16 , 39 , 40 , 44 , 45 , 51 , 56 , 59 ]. Intervention durations ranged from 3 weeks [ 46 ] to 48 weeks [ 42 ], with longest follow-up ranging from 1 month [ 58 ] to 24 months [ 39 , 60 ].…”

“…I 2 = 69.69. GRADE: Low) [ 20 , 39 , 42 , 45 , 60 ] or 12-month follow-up (two RCTs with 756 participants. Hedge’s g 0.00, 95% CI: −0.12, 0.12.…”

“…I 2 = 0.00. GRADE: Moderate) [ 39 , 42 , 60 ] Two rehabilitation interventions had a moderate effect but it failed to reach statistical significance at 24-month follow-up (two RCTs with 681 participants. Hedge’s g 0.63 95% CI: −0.16, 1.43.…”

Keep on and keep up the fall prevention work: older adults need evidence-based fall prevention actions now more than ever!

“…Recently, new guidelines from World Health Organization (WHO) regarding physical activity and sedentary behaviour was released [2]. The main message was to increase volumes of physical activity in daily life and to decrease sedentary behaviour [3]. In addition, the guidelines highlight the importance of both strength and balance exercises for older adults, with the notion of preventing falls.…”