Background: People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who use a wheelchair or scooter full-time fall frequently; however, fall prevention programming that meets the unique needs of this population is limited. This study examined the preliminary efficacy of a group-based online fall prevention and management intervention designed specifically for people with MS.

Methods: This pre/post intervention, mixed-methods study included people with MS who used a wheelchair or scooter full-time, experienced at least 1 fall within the past year, and transferred independently or with minimal or moderate assistance. Participants engaged in a 6-week, online, individualized, multicomponent fall prevention and management intervention: Individualized Reduction of Falls-Online (iROLL-O).

Results: No statistically significant change in fall incidence occurred after iROLL-O. However, fear of falling significantly decreased ( < .01) and knowledge related to fall management ( = .04) and fall prevention and management ( = .03) significantly improved. Qualitative results indicated that participants valued the opportunity for peer learning and iROLL-O's attention to diverse influences on fall risk.

Conclusions: This study is the first to examine the preliminary efficacy of an online fall prevention and management intervention for people with MS who use a wheelchair or scooter full-time. iROLL-O has promise, and participants found it valuable. Further efforts are needed to retain iROLL-O participants with lower confidence and functional mobility, and more research is needed to investigate the impact of the intervention on key outcomes over time.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10010107PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.7224/1537-2073.2022-044DOI Listing

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