fall risk and effectiveness of educational intervention program for elderly

Research Project

Project/Area Number	22792268
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Community health/Gerontological nurisng
Research Institution	Fukuoka Prefectural University
Principal Investigator	ONO Junko 福岡県立大学, 看護学部, 講師 (20432742)
Project Period (FY)	2010-04-01 – 2014-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2013)
Budget Amount *help	¥4,680,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,080,000) Fiscal Year 2013: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000) Fiscal Year 2012: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000) Fiscal Year 2011: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000) Fiscal Year 2010: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
Keywords	高齢者 / 転倒 / 教育的介入 / 介入効果
Research Abstract	We evaluated the effectiveness of educational intervention for community-dwelling older adults who had a high risk of falls. Support was provided to enable the individuals to recognize risk factors, and to implement and continue fall prevention in 3 areas: the living environment, which the person can be relatively easily aware of and improve; gait, which does not lend itself to self-awareness by the person but is an important risk factor for falls; and muscle strength, which is essential for improving gait. The proportion of subjects who implemented and continued preventive methods was 33.3% for determining risk factors in the living environment, 72.5% for gait improvement, and 78.5% for exercise to prevent decreases in muscle strength. The incidence of falls during the 3 months after the intervention was 7.8%. No significant differences were seen between those who had experienced falls and those who had not in the rate of implementation of preventive methods or the incidence of falls.