24-Months Cluster-Randomized Intervention Trial of a Targeted Fall Prevention Program in a Primary Care Setting.

Background: Falls and fall-related injuries are common in community-dwelling older persons. Longitudinal data on effective fall prevention programs are rare.

Objective: Therefore, we evaluated a 4-months multi-component exercise fall prevention program in a primary care setting on long-term effects over 24 months on falls and concomitant injuries in older community-dwelling persons with high risk of falling.

Fall Prevention in a Primary Care Setting.

Background: Falls and fall-related injuries are common in community-dwelling elderly people. Effective multifactorial fall prevention programs in the primary care setting may be a promising approach to reduce the incidence rate of falls.

Methods: In a cluster randomized trial in 33 general practices 378 people living independently and at high risk of falling (65 to 94 years old; 285 women) were allocated to either a 16 week exercise-based fall prevention program including muscle strengthening and challenging balance training exercises, combined with a 12 week home-based exercise program (222 participants), or to usual care (156 participants).

Effects of a complex intervention on fall risk in the general practitioner setting: a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: To study the feasibility of first, reaching functionally declined, but still independent older persons at risk of falls through their general practitioner (GP) and second, to reduce their physiological and psychological fall risk factors with a complex exercise intervention. We investigated the effects of a 16-week exercise intervention on physiological (function, strength, and balance) and psychological (fear of falling) outcomes in community-dwelling older persons in comparison with usual care. In addition, we obtained data on adherence of the participants to the exercise program.

An interdisciplinary intervention to prevent falls in community-dwelling elderly persons: protocol of a cluster-randomized trial [PreFalls].

Background: Prevention of falls in the elderly is a public health target in many countries around the world. While a large number of trials have investigated the effectiveness of fall prevention programs, few focussed on interventions embedded in the general practice setting and its related network. In the Prevent Falls (PreFalls) trial we aim to investigate the effectiveness of a pre-tested multi-modal intervention compared to usual care in this setting.