Efficacy of the Otago Exercise Programme to reduce falls in community-dwelling adults aged 65-80 years old when delivered as group or individual training.

Aim: This study will compare how falls can be reduced in non-institutionalized older Spanish adults aged 65-80 years by providing group or individual exercise sessions using the Otago Exercise Programme.

Background: The Otago Exercise Programme is a progressive home-based exercise programme, where trained health professionals help people engage in strength, balance and endurance exercises. Its format is based on the evidence from four clinical trials. The benefits of the Otago Exercise Programme are the same for people who have and have not suffered falls and it can also be used for visually impaired people.

Design: A multicentre, simply blinded, randomized, non-inferiority clinical trial, with two arms-group training and individual training-that started in January 2017 and will continue until December 2019.

Methods: Each study group has 364 subjects, who will take part in four individual or group sessions delivered mainly by nurses over an 8-week period, with a reinforcement session 6 months later. Data will be collected at baseline and after 6 and 12 months. The fall percentage will be the most relevant clinical variable and we will also consider safety, viability, compliance, economic analysis and therapeutic value. Approval and funding was granted in December 2016 for this 3-year study by the Spanish Health Research Fund (PI16CIII/00031).

Discussion: Older people from 65-80 years old tend to be more isolated and tackling worries about falls can improve social activities and independence. It has been shown that group training provides better adherence to exercise than individual training and this study will test that hypothesis for the Otago Exercise Programme.