Older adults living in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) face a higher risk for falls than those living independently in the community. New research reveals tailored exercise interventions at LTCFs can help reduce falls and improve the overall safety and quality of life for older adults.
A scoping review led by the UW Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center examined the effectiveness of person-focused interventions for fall prevention in LTCFs. Researchers identified three effective approaches:
The results showed that most interventions led to significant reductions in falls and fear of falling. Researchers suggest multifactorial programs are especially beneficial for older adults with cognitive impairments.
Funding for this work was supported, in part, by a grant from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (CDC 1R49CE003087). The results were published September 2024 in the journal, Injury Prevention. This publication is one of two papers coming out on older adult fall prevention in LTCFs.
Investigators on this study represent the Connell School of Nursing at Boston College; The Department of Nursing at Dongguk University-South Korea; Human Development Nursing Science in the College of Nursing at University of Illinois, Chicago; Schools of Public Health and Nursing at the University of Washington; and the Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center at the UW School of Medicine.