gms | German Medical Science

12. Deutscher Kongress für Versorgungsforschung

Deutsches Netzwerk Versorgungsforschung e. V.

23. - 25. Oktober 2013, Berlin

Effectiveness of preventive home visits to reduce falls in old age – A randomized controlled trial

Meeting Abstract

  • Tobias Luck - Universität Leipzig, ISAP, Leipzig, Germany
  • presenting/speaker Melanie Luppa - Universität Leipzig, ISAP, Leipzig, Germany
  • Tom Motzek - Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
  • Herbert Matschinger - Universität Leipzig, ISAP, Leipzig, Germany
  • Steffen Fleischer - Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle/Saale, Germany
  • Gudrun Roling - Private Universität Witten/Herdecke, Witten, Germany
  • Katrin Beutner - Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle/Saale, Germany
  • Hans-Helmut König - Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, IMSG, Hamburg, Germany
  • Johann Behrens - Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle/Saale, Germany
  • Steffi G. Riedel-Heller - Universität Leipzig, ISAP, Leipzig, Germany

12. Deutscher Kongress für Versorgungsforschung. Berlin, 23.-25.10.2013. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2013. DocPO1-1-09-203

doi: 10.3205/13dkvf167, urn:nbn:de:0183-13dkvf1673

Published: October 25, 2013

© 2013 Luck et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en). You are free: to Share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work, provided the original author and source are credited.


Outline

Text

Background: Falls in older people are a major public health issue, but the underlying causes are complex. We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of preventive home visits (PHVs) as a multi-factorial, individualized strategy to reduce falls in community-dwelling older people.

Method: Data were derived from a prospective randomized controlled trial with follow-up examination after 18 months. Two hundred thirty participants (80+ years of age) with functional impairment were randomized to intervention and control groups (IG/CG). The IG received up to three PHVs including risk assessment (PHV 1), home counseling intervention (PHV 2), and booster session (PHV 3). The CG received no PHVs. Structured interviews at baseline and follow-up provided information concerning falls in both study groups. Random-effects Poisson regression evaluated the effect of PHVs on the number of falls controlling for covariates.

Results: Random-effects Poisson regression showed a significant increase in the number of falls between baseline and follow-up in the CG [incidence rate ratios (IRR) =1.96] and a significant decrease in the IG (IRR=0.63) controlling for age, gender, family status, care level, and impairment in activities of daily living.

Discussion/Conclusion: Results indicate that a PHV program can be effective in reducing falls in community-dwelling older people.