Rehabilitation of older people with Parkinson’s disease: an innovative protocol for RCT study to evaluate the potential of robotic-based technologies

Source: BMC Neurology

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Date of publication: 13 May 2020, Vol. 20 Iss. 186

 Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: Parkinson’s disease is one of the most frequent causes of disability among the older adults. It is a chronic-progressive neuro-degenerative disease, characterized by several motor disorders. Balance disorders are a symptom that involves the body axis and do not respond to dopaminergic therapy used in Parkinson’s disease. Therefore, physiotherapy becomes an important intervention for the management of motor disorders. Originally, these rehabilitative approaches were based on empirical experiences, but several scientific evidences suggests that neuronal plasticity is exercise-dependent. In this context, robotic rehabilitation plays an important role because it allows to perform task-oriented exercises and to increase the number of repetitions and their intensity. This protocol study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of robotic-based intervention of the older adults with Parkinson’s disease, designed to improve the gait and to reduce the risk of falling.

 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.

Vitamin D supplementation as a fall prevention method: A systematic review

Source: Australasian Medical Journal 

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Date of publication: May 2020, Vol. 23 Iss. 4, pps. 148 – 155

 Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: Falls are common occurrences events leading to remarkable morbidity and mortality. Vitamin D supplementation is often recommended to prevent falls, although vitamin D trials conclude contradictory results.  This review aimed to summarize the available RCTs that studied the effect of vitamin D administered on falls in older adults.

 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.

Combined group and home exercise programmes in community‐dwelling falls‐risk older adults: Systematic review and meta‐analysis

Source: Physiotherapy Research International

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Date of publication: 11 May 2020

 Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: The objectives of this review were to (a) determine the effectiveness of combined group and home exercise programmes on falls risk factors and falls in community‐dwelling older adults at risk of falling compared to no exercise controls; and (b) explore adherence and the behaviour change techniques employed in delivering these interventions.

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.

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.

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.

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.

 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.

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.

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.