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Age and Ageing Advance Access originally published online on September 20, 2004
Age and Ageing 2004 33(6):596-602; doi:10.1093/ageing/afh204
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Age and Ageing Vol. 33 No. 6 © British Geriatrics Society 2004; all rights reserved

Research Paper

Falls prevention in residential care homes: a randomised controlled trial

Christopher A. E. Dyer1, Gordon J. Taylor2, Mary Reed2, Catherine A. Dyer3, Dorothy R. Robertson1 and Rachel Harrington3

1 Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust, Combe Park, Bath BA1 5HP, UK
2 Research Development Support Unit, University of Bath, Bath, UK
3 Kennet and North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust, Pan Lane, Devizes, UK

Address correspondence to: Christopher Dyer. Email: chris.dyer{at}ruh-bath.swest.nhs.uk

Abstract

Objective: to determine the effect of risk factor modification and balance exercise on falls rates in residential care homes.

Design: cluster randomised controlled trial.

Participants: 196 residents (aged 60 years or over) in 20 residential care homes were enrolled (38% response rate). Homes were randomly allocated to intervention and control arms. A total of 102 residents were consigned to the intervention arm and 94 to the control arm.

Intervention: a multifactorial falls prevention programme including 3 months gait and balance training, medication review, podiatry and optometry.

Main outcome measures: number of falls/recurrent falls per person, number of medications per person, and change in Tinetti gait and balance measure.

Results: in the intervention group there was a mean of 2.2 falls per resident per year compared with 4.0 in the control group; this failed to reach statistical significance (P = 0.2) once the intra-cluster correlation (ICC, 0.10) had been accounted for. Several risk factors were reduced in the intervention arm.

Conclusions: falls risk factor reduction is possible in residents of care homes. A modest reduction in falls rates was demonstrated but this failed to reach statistical significance.

Keywords: falls, institutional care, randomised controlled trial

Received November 2, 2003; accepted in revised form June 22, 2004.


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