Step length determines minimum toe clearance in older adults and people with Parkinson’s disease

Source: Journal of Biomechanics, 2017, online

Follow this link for the abstract

Date of publication: December 2017

Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: Reduced foot clearance when walking may increase the risk of trips and falls in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Changes in foot clearance in PD are likely to be associated with temporal-spatial characteristics of gait such as walking slowly which evokes alterations in the temporal-spatial control of stepping patterns. Enhancing the understanding of the temporal-spatial determinants of foot clearance may inform the design of falls prevention therapies. Results suggest step length is the primary determinant of MTC regardless of pathology. Interventions that focus on increasing step length may help to reduce the risk of trips and falls during gait, however, clinical trials are required for robust evaluation.

Length of publication: 1 page

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.

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Impaired perceived timing of falls in the elderly

Source: Gait & Posture, 2018, Vol 59 p. 40-45

Follow this link for the abstract

Date of publication: January 2018

Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: Falls are the leading cause of injury-related deaths and hospitalizations, with older adults at an increased risk. As humans age, physical changes and health conditions make falls more likely. The body reflexively responds to prevent injury during a fall, though little is known of the perception of this response. Younger and older people were compared for their perceptions of time during a fall: older people’s fall perception was found to be nearly twice as slow. It is possible that such age-related differences in fall perception may relate to increased falls rates in older adults.

Length of publication: 5 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.

Integrated care for older people : guidelines on community-level interventions to manage declines in intrinsic capacity

Source: World Health Organization

Follow this link for the full text 

Date of publication: 2017

 Publication type: Guideline

In a nutshell: The recommendations provided here on integrated care for older people (ICOPE) offer evidence-based guidance to health care providers on the appropriate approaches at the community level to detect and manage important declines in physical and mental capacities, and to deliver interventions in support of caregivers. These standards can act as the basis for national guidelines and for the inclusion of older people’s health care in primary care programmes, using a person-centred and integrated approach.

 Length of publication: 60 pages

 

Home modification to reduce falls at a health district level: modeling health gain, health inequalities and health costs

Source: PLOSOne

Follow this link for the abstract

Date of publication: 14th September 2017

Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: There is some evidence that home safety assessment and modification (HSAM) is effective in reducing falls in older people. But there are various knowledge gaps, including around cost-effectiveness and also the impacts at a health district-level.

Length of publication: 16 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.

 

Conceptualizing a dynamic fall risk model including intrinsic risks and exposures

Source: Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2017, Online

Follow this link for the abstract

Date of publication: September 2017

Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: Falls are a major cause of injury and disability in older people, and can lead to various health and social consequences. Accurately understanding and identifying a person’s fall risk is needed to design and provide individual prevention measures, but current fall-risk models are weak compared to risk models for other specialities. Current models, for example, consider risk factors to be stable over time, not reflecting real-life experience. This study therefore posits a dynamic fall-risk model linking time and context. This may lead to the development of new fall prevention interventions.

Length of publication: 1 page

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.

Self-powered fall detection system using pressure sensing triboelectric nanogenerators

Source: Nano Energy, 2017, Vol. 41 p. 139-147

Follow this link for the abstract

Date of publication: November 2017

Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: Fall detection is becoming more important as the number of older people in society increases. People may fall at home where there is little timely help available, and falls themselves can cause injuries. Most fall detection technologies are inconvenient to wear, and visual or movement-based ones can be expensive and difficult to install. This study proposes a falls-detection system based on a pressure-sensing triboelectric nanogenerator array, which is cost-effective and ambient-based. It achieves a classification accuracy of 95.75% in identifying actual falls, and can be immediately installed due to low costs.

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.

Strategies to prevent falls and injuries among older adults

Source: Nursing Clinics of North America, 2017, Volume 52 no 3 p. 489-497

Follow this link for the abstract

Date of publication: September 2017

Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: Falls in older adults are the leading cause of injuries, and community-dwelling older adults should have an annual fall risk screening/assessment. This article looks at both clinical and community-based strategies from several different evidence-based programs to raise awareness in older adults in the community about falls, about increasing strength and balance, and to address the fear 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.

Public Health England publishes resource pack for falls and fracture prevention

Source: Chartered Society of Physiotherapists

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Date of publication: September 2017

Publication type: News article

In a nutshell: Public Health England has published a resource pack to accompany its falls and fracture consensus statement: supporting commissioning through prevention, published in January; the statement was developed by member organisations of the National Falls Prevention Coordination Group (NFPCG) with Agile, the older people’s physiotherapy network, representing the CSP.

Length of publication: 1 page

Knowledge, behavioural practices, and experiences of outdoor fallers: implications for prevention programs

Source: Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 2017, Vol 72 p. 19-24

Follow this link for the abstract

Date of publication: September-October 2017

Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: Falls prevention has been well-studied, but the focus is usually on indoor falls rather than outdoor. Older adults’ knowledge of outdoor risk factors and fall prevention practices have not been examined. This study sought to fill that gap and inform the development of a prevention program by exploring experiences of older adults.

Length of publication: 5 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.

Effects of an ICT-based fall-prevention system in community-dwelling older adults

Source: International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 2017, Vol 106 p. 10-25

Follow this link for the abstract

Date of publication: October 2017

Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: A sedentary lifestyle and low levels of physical activity are major factors in fall risk for older adults. ICT-based interventions could possibly counteract the risk for this group, as studies show that such interventions significantly reduce it. However, this population is heterogeneous, and several factors (such as gender, age, fitness and others) may influence the use of these systems. This study analyses the iStoppFalls system, testing effectiveness and usage indicators, among other things.

Length of publication: 15 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.

Falls and fractures: consensus statement

Source: Government website, 2017

Follow this link for the document

Date of publication: January 2017

Publication type: Guidance

In a nutshell: Public Health England have published new guidance on falls and fractures around supporting commissioning for prevention. It outlines approaches to interventions and activities helping to prevent falls and fractures to improve health outcomes for older people

The degree of misjudgment between perceived and actual gait ability

Source: Gait & posture, 2017, Vol 51 p. 275-280

Follow this link for the abstract

Date of publication: January 2017

Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: Carrying out motor tasks successfully means a person’s perception of their physical abilities must be integrated with a perception of the task itself. Geriatric decline in physical and cognitive abilities may lead to misjudgements and possibly errors leading to loss of balance. This study aimed to quantify how much older adults misjudge their actual gait ability. Better abilities did not appear to be associated with better judgement – in fact, a range of misjudgements showed. This could provide insight into the interplay between cognition and physical abilities, and add value towards fall prevention and promotion of healthy ageing.

Length of publication: 5 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.