A multifactorial intervention reduced the mean number of falls but not the proportion who fell in older people with recurrent falls
Q What is the effectiveness of a multifactorial intervention to prevent falls in older people with recurrent falls?
METHODS
Design:
randomised controlled trial.
Allocation:
concealed.
Blinding:
blinded (data collectors).
Follow up period:
1 year.
Setting:
accident and emergency departments (EDs) in a university teaching hospital and an affiliated district general hospital in the UK.
Patients:
313 patients >65 years of age (mean age 77 y, 72% women) who presented to an ED with a fall or fall related injury and had ⩾1 previous fall in the preceding year. Exclusion criteria included cognitive impairment (Mini Mental State Examination score <24), >1 previous episode of syncope, immobility, and clear medical explanation for falling.
Intervention:
a multifactorial intervention comprising hospital based medical assessment, home based physiotherapy and …
