Why Multifactorial Fall-Prevention Interventions May Not Work

The interplay between gait, falls and cognition: can cognitive therapy reduce fall risk?

“…In fact, some well-designed large-scale, controlled studies, reported that multifactorial interventions reduced falling by only 6% among community-dwelling older adults [52] or even had no significant benefit [54–59]. A number of factors may explain the range in the reported effectiveness of fall prevention programs (e.g., content fails to ensure progression and intensity; inadequate tailoring to target population; suboptimal uptake of the intervention; and insufficient compliance) [51,52,54,60]. An additional factor may explain the inconsistencies in the outcomes.…”

Influences on Modern Multifactorial Falls Prevention Interventions and Fear of Falling in Non-Frail Older Adults: A Literature Review

“…Research also indicates that 30-40% of this population fall a minimum of once a year [1, 2, 4-6]. Expert opinion also suggests that for a multifactorial falls prevention program to successfully reduce the occurrence of falls, it must successfully address three constructs: content, process and choice of target group [25]. In this context, content refers to the components of the program; process refers to program delivery and means of delivery; and choice of target group refers to the selection of a population that is appropriate to receive and fully participate in the program [25].…”

“…Research also suggests that it is difficult to assess all multifactorial interventions to ascertain the root causes of negative results [25]. To best address the success or failure of a program, it is suggested that multifactorial falls intervention programs should be assessed in the context of the three aforementioned constructs of content, process, and choice of target group [25].…”

“…Research also suggests that it is difficult to assess all multifactorial interventions to ascertain the root causes of negative results [25]. To best address the success or failure of a program, it is suggested that multifactorial falls intervention programs should be assessed in the context of the three aforementioned constructs of content, process, and choice of target group [25]. Further, to what extent each construct was applied to the intervention and the possible benefits of adjusting the degree of application of one construct in relation to the others may also prove vital in the assessment and improvement of the multifactorial intervention [25].…”

“…To best address the success or failure of a program, it is suggested that multifactorial falls intervention programs should be assessed in the context of the three aforementioned constructs of content, process, and choice of target group [25]. Further, to what extent each construct was applied to the intervention and the possible benefits of adjusting the degree of application of one construct in relation to the others may also prove vital in the assessment and improvement of the multifactorial intervention [25]. It is also important when comparing multifactorial and usual care falls prevention programs that evaluators explore the components of both programs because if both programs include multifactorial components, the comparative results may not yield high significance because of overlap in equally positive effects of the multifactorial components [25].…”