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Effectiveness and Implementation Aspects of Interventions for Preventing Falls in Elderly People in Long-Term Care Facilities: A Systematic Review of RCTs
Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 07/01/2011
Evidence Based Medicine
Neyens JC et al. – In general, because of the limited number of included trials, the evidence is inconclusive for multifaceted and single interventions in long–term care facilities. Most of the reviewed studies did not find a significant positive effect on fall incidents. However, authors data support the conclusions of Gillespie et al. that multifactorial interventions in long–term care populations seem more likely to be beneficial. However, single interventions (eg, targeting vitamin D insufficiency) can be effective. Furthermore, a careful approach is needed as programs to prevent falls in these settings may be ineffective or even may have adverse effects. This may occur especially when a program is not feasible for the setting in which it is implemented.
