Promoting fall prevention among community dwelling older adults through activLife: a physical and social activation

Source: Journal of Population Ageing

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Date of publication: 12 February 2020

Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: Falls have been recognized as the second leading cause of injury or death for older adults. The related economic burden caused by fall related injuries is not negligible. Earlier research has demonstrated that regular participation in appropriate prescribed physical activity by improving upper and lower limb strength, balance, coordination, transfer skills, and reaction to environmental hazards can lower the risk for falls and fall-related fractures and other injuries. Conversely, physical inactivity can significantly double the risk of developing a disability, which will affect mobility as well as the ability to perform even the most basic activities of daily life, therefore, ultimately increases the older adults’ risk for falls.

This paper first presents a technological solution ActivLife that aims at preventing older adults from falling through practicing physical training in a safe and playful manner, followed by a randomized controlled study with 43 older adults with an average age of 77 for a period of 16 weeks in a social activation center het Ontmoet en Groethuys in Eindhoven, the Netherlands to demonstrate to what extent ActivLife could help to prevent falling among older adults.

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library.

Exploring enablers and barriers to accessing health services after a fall among people with intellectual disability

Source: Journal of Applied Research  in Intellectual Disabilities

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Date of publication: 10 February 2020

 Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: Adults with intellectual disability experience high rates of falls making falls prevention an important health need. The purpose of the study was to seek perspectives of older adults with intellectual disability and their caregivers to (a) explore the experiences of older adults with intellectual disability when seeking healthcare services after a fall and (b) identify enablers and barriers when taking up evidence‐based falls recommendations.

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library.

Twenty-four-hour, weekly and annual patterns in serious falls of non-institutionalized independent Spanish seniors

Source: European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences

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Date of publication: February 2020 Vol. 24 pps. 1440-1453

 Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: The study aimed to explore clock hour, day-of-week, and month-of- year patterns of serious falls experienced by non-institutionalized Spanish seniors (age ≥65 years) in relation to associated conventional intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

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Efficacy and generalizability of falls prevention interventions in nursing homes: a systematic review and Meta-analysis

Source: Journal of the American Medical Directors Association

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Date of publication: 23 January 2020

 Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: The aim of this study is to determine the efficacy of fall intervention programs in nursing homes (NHs) and the generalizability of these interventions to people living with cognitive impairment and dementia.

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Educating health professionals to optimise falls screening in hospitals: protocol for a mixed methods study

Source:  BMC Health Services Research

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Date of publication: 22 January 2020, Vol. 20 Iss. 54

 Publication type: Journal Article

In a nutshell: Falls in hospitals remain a major challenge to patient safety. All hospitalised adults are at risk of falling during their inpatient stay, though this risk is not always realised by patients and clinicians. This study will evaluate the outcomes of a hospital clinician education program that teaches clinicians how to screen for falls risk and assign mitigation strategies using clinical reasoning, rather than relying on a standardised falls risk assessment tool (FRAT). The education program aims to increase clinician knowledge, motivation and confidence in screening falls risk and selecting individual falls prevention interventions. Perceptions of the education intervention will also be examined.

 Length of publication: 7 pages

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library.

Evaluation of a falls and fire safety program for community-dwelling older adults

Source: Journal of Community Health

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Date of publication: 23 January 2020

 Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: Remembering When™ (RW) is a falls and fire prevention program delivered by fire service personnel and homecare organizations to help older adults live safely at home for as long as possible. This study evaluated changes in falls prevention and fire safety behaviors and perceptions and social support associated with falls and residential fires among older adults following delivery of the RW program by fire service personnel.

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Fall prevention in primary care using chronic disease management plans: A process evaluation of provider and consumer perspectives

Source:Australian Occupational Therapy Journal

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Date of publication: 3 November 2019

 Publication type: Journal article 

In a nutshell:Falls are an important issue in primary care. General practitioners (GPs) are in a key position to identify older people at risk of falls on their caseload and put preventative plans into action. Chronic Disease Management (CDM) plans allow GPs to refer to allied health practitioners (AHPs) for evidence‐based falls interventions. A previous pilot study reduced falls risk factors using CDM pans with older people at risk of falls. This study aimed to conduct a process evaluation of how the intervention worked in the pilot study for providers and consumers.

 Length of publication: 9 pages

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library.

Practical tips for prescribing exercise for fall prevention

Source: Osteoporosis International

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Date of publication: 30 August 2019

 Publication type: journal article

In a nutshell: There is strong evidence from meta-analyses that exercise as a single intervention can reduce the number and risk of falls in community-dwelling older adults, yet not all types of exercise are equal.

 Length of publication: 8 pages

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library.