Comprehensive clinical assessment
Comprehensive clinical assessment is critical for identifing all of the many correctible factors contributing to someone who is falling.
When a comprehensive medical examination by a Geriatrician was made on seniors who had fallen followed by appropriate referrals and a home safety evaluation by an Occupational Therapist, study participants were 60 percent less likely to fall once and 67 percent less likely to fall repeatedly (at least three times) in a 12 month period of time, compared with those who did not receive the intervention. (Profet Program, Sydney, Australia)
Exercise for balance & strength
Exercise specifically targeting balance and strength when provided over a period of time is the greatest single intervention in the reduction in falling.
Most effective is exercise individually prescribed to address individual deficits.
Otago exercise program demonstrated a 40% reduction in fall rate. Click here to view the program
Tai Chi participants demonstrated a 50 to 55% reduction in fall risk after 15 weeks to 6 months following a modified program.
A VA exercise group 3 times per week for 12 weeks demonstrated 66% reduction in fall rate.
Fall rate was reduced 20% with as little as 4 educational sessions to teach exercise and reducing home hazards. (SAFE Health Behavior and Exercise Intervention, Portland, Or.)
Medication management
Appropriate management of polypharmacy has demonstrated significant decrease in the rate of falls.
When medications were modified in combination with an exercise program delivered by a home health Physical Therapist, patients were 30% less likely to fall (Yale Frailty and Injuries: Cooperative Studies of Intervention Techniques)
Vision correction
Rate of falling can be reduced significantly with correction of vision problems.
When a low vision assessment was added to a program that included group exercise and home health hazard reduction, fall rate was improved to 33% reduction in fall rate over 20% reduction in falls with the exercise group alone.
Reducing home hazards
Having a Physical Therapist or Occupational Therapist do a home safety assessment has demonstrated reduction in the rate of falls.
This intervention was studied utilizing an occupational therapist (OT) who visited participants in their homes, identified environmental hazards and unsafe behaviors, and recommended home modifications and behavior changes. Fall rates were reduced by 33% to 37% among men and women who had experienced one or more falls in the year before the study.
Preventing Falls: What Works A CDC Compendium of Effective Community-based Interventions from Around the World
