Review of literature
• A randomized control study to assess the effectiveness of a Tailored Fall-Prevention
Program for Discharged Older Patients was conducted in Japan. The control group
received standard care (exercise to prevent recurrent falls), whereas the intervention
group received a tailored fall-prevention program in addition to usual care. the results
showed that no falls occurred in the intervention group; however, 4.3% of those in the
control group experienced a fall. Near-falls were reported by 3.7% and 26.9% of the
participants in the intervention and control groups, respectively. (REFERENCE9)
• A clinical guideline for Fall prevention in hospitals and nursing homes was formulated in
Austria. It used a total of 79 randomized controlled trials on fall prevention were identified,
which formed the basis of the recommendations. Strongly recommended measures for
both settings included multifactorial interventions, professionally supported body exercise
interventions, and education and counselling interventions. The panel and team did not
recommend the use of a specific assessment tool for fall risk assessment, low-floor beds
in hospitals, or body exercise interventions in frail residents. (REFERENCE 7)
• Effectiveness of preventive home visits in reducing the risk of falls in old age: a randomized controlled trial
Two hundred and thirty participants (80 years of age) with functional impairment were randomized to
intervention and control groups. The intervention group received up to three preventive home visits
including risk assessment, home counselling intervention, and a booster session. The control group received
no preventive home visits. Structured interviews at baseline and follow-up provided information concerning
falls in both study groups Random-effects Poisson regression showed a significant increase in the number of
falls between baseline and follow-up in the control group (incidence rate ratio 1.96) and a significant
decrease in the intervention group (incidence rate ratio 0.63) controlling for age, sex, family status, level of
care, and impairment in activities of daily living.(REFERENCE8)
• Effect of a video-assisted fall prevention program on fall incidence in community-dwelling older adults during
COVID Snehal Kulkarni MPH, Aarti Nagarkar PhD in India April 2023. A video-assisted 16-week exercise
intervention consisting of stretching, strengthening, balance, and dual-task training was delivered to
randomly selected 95 older adults with a high risk of falls. The fall incidence reduced significantly by 45%
(IRR 0.55, (95% CI, 0.13–0.86) and difficulty in daily activities decreased (OR: 0.74, 95% CI, 0.16 – 0.96)
among participants in the intervention group. Fear of falls did not show any significant difference in the
groups at the 12-month follow-up( reference 10)
• A non randomised control trial to study the effectiveness of a patient
centrered fall prevention tool kit to reduce falls and injury was
conducted in boston and newyork . In this nonrandomized controlled
trial including 37 231 patients from 14 medical units within 3
academic medical centers, an interrupted time series found that
implementation of a fall-prevention tool kit was associated with a
statistically significant 15% reduction in overall inpatient falls and a
34% reduction in injurious falls. The findings suggest that tools to
support patient engagement throughout hospitalization in the fall-
prevention process may be associated with a reduction in falls and
fall-related injuries(reference 2)
• A quasi-experimental study to assess the effectiveness of fall
prevention strategy for the older patients based on patient
engagement framework among 116 patients in a teaching general
hospital in China. Study reveals that after the implementation of an
intervention strategy in older patients, the number of falls decreased
from 3 to 0; the score of KAP and Modified Fall Efficacy Scale was
promoted (p < .05). (reference 6)
• A randomised control trial to assess the effectiveness of fall
prevention interventions in residential aged care and community
setting . The interventions included were exercise , multifactorial, vit
D , Education , medication review , environmental and other
interventions . Exercise intervention often focused on tai chi valence,
resistant multicomponent programmes . The study concluded that,
exercise interventions were the most appropriate fall prevention
intervention.(reference 3)
• A systematic review and meta analysis to examine the effectiveness of
multi factorial fall prevention strategies among community dwelling
older adults. Multi factorial interventions included exercise,
education, environmental modification, mobility aids ,vision and
psycological management. The study reveals that active multifactorial
interventions had positive effect on fall rates and number of people
experiencing fall. (reference 4)
