Efficacy of exercise-based interventions in preventing falls among community-dwelling older persons with cognitive impairment: is there enough evidence? An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Exercise prevents falls in the general older population, but evidence is inconclusive for older adults living with cognitive impairment. We performed an updated systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the potential effectiveness of interventions for reducing falls in older persons with cognitive impairment.

Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, CENTRAL and PEDro were searched from inception to 10 November 2020.

Implementing an Online Virtual Falls Prevention Intervention During a Public Health Pandemic for Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Feasibility Trial.

Purpose: This study evaluates the feasibility of delivering a virtual (online) falls prevention intervention for older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Methods: Community-dwelling older adults with MCI (mean age = 76.2 years, 72% women) were randomized to either a Tai Ji Quan (n = 15) or stretching group (n = 15) and participated in 60-minute virtual exercise sessions, via Zoom, twice weekly for 24 weeks.

Cost-Effectiveness of a Therapeutic Tai Ji Quan Fall Prevention Intervention for Older Adults at High Risk of Falling.

Background: Data on the cost-effectiveness of proven fall prevention exercise interventions are limited. We aimed to establish the cost-effectiveness of Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance (TJQMBB) compared with a conventional exercise intervention for older adults at high risk of falling.

Methods: We conducted a trial-based cost-effectiveness analysis involving 670 older adults who had a history of falling or impaired mobility.

Effectiveness of a Therapeutic Tai Ji Quan Intervention vs a Multimodal Exercise Intervention to Prevent Falls Among Older Adults at High Risk of Falling: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Falls in older adults are a serious public health problem associated with irreversible health consequences and responsible for a substantial economic burden on health care systems. However, identifying optimal choices from among evidence-based fall prevention interventions is challenging as few comparative data for effectiveness are available.

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of a therapeutically tailored tai ji quan intervention, Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance (TJQMBB), developed on the classic concept of tai ji (also known as tai chi), and a multimodal exercise (MME) program relative to stretching exercise in reducing falls among older adults at high risk of falling.

Exercise and Fall Prevention: Narrowing the Research-to-Practice Gap and Enhancing Integration of Clinical and Community Practice.

Falls in older adults are a global public health crisis, but mounting evidence from randomized controlled trials shows that falls can be reduced through exercise. Public health authorities and healthcare professionals endorse the use of evidence-based, exercise-focused fall interventions, but there are major obstacles to translating and disseminating research findings into healthcare practice, including lack of evidence of the transferability of efficacy trial results to clinical and community settings, insufficient local expertise to roll out community exercise programs, and inadequate infrastructure to integrate evidence-based programs into clinical and community practice. The practical solutions highlighted in this article can be used to address these evidence-to-practice challenges.

Assessment and management of fall risk in primary care settings.

Falls among older adults are neither purely accidental nor inevitable; research has shown that many falls are preventable. Primary care providers play a key role in preventing falls. However, fall risk assessment and management is performed infrequently in primary care settings.

Implementing an evidence-based fall prevention program in an outpatient clinical setting.

Objectives: To investigate the dissemination potential of a Tai Ji Quan-based program, previously shown to be efficacious for reducing risk of falls in older adults, through outpatient clinical settings.

Design: A single-group pre/post design in which participants attended a twice-weekly Tai Ji Quan training program for 24 weeks.

Setting: Communities in Lane County, Oregon.