Home Hazard Removal Program to Reduce Falls (HARP)

August 25, 2025 updated by: Susan Stark, Washington University School of Medicine

Removing Home Hazards for Older Adults

This study evaluates the effectiveness and implementation of a home-hazard removal program to reduce falls in older adults through a community program delivered through the aging services network. The investigators will conduct a hybrid effectiveness/implementation trial of 300 older adults at risk for a fall who will be randomized to a home-hazard removal program or usual care and then followed for 12 months. Investigators will look at the number of falls at 6 months and 12 months.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The investigators will randomly select a sample of older adults from the large observational cohort of older adults assessed annually by an Area Agendy on Aging via the National Aging Program Information System (NAPIS). The eligibility criteria include age 65 years or older and self-report of one previous fall or more in the preceding 12 months or self-report as "worried about falling." We will conduct baseline assessments and randomize participants to receive an home hazard removal program or usual care. Outcomes (falls, fall self-efficacy) will be assessed by a blinded rater at baseline and 12 months after intervention. All assessments and study visits will occur in participants' homes.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

310

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Missouri
      • St Louis, Missouri, United States, 63110
        • Occupational Therapy Program at Washington University School of Medicine

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

65 years and older (Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals aged 65 years or older and self-report of one previous fall or more in the preceding 12 months or self-report as "worried about falling."

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals residing in nursing homes or individuals with severe cognitive impairment who are unable to give consent to participate (as determined by a score of greater than 10 on the SBT for memory10).

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Home Modification Group
A tailored home-modification (home-hazard removal) intervention delivered in the home by occupational therapists over three visits and with a booster session at six months.
Other: Home Modification
Removal of home barriers or hazards.
No Intervention: Usual Care Group
Usual care by an Area Agency on Aging

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of Falls
Time Frame: 12 months
Prospective daily reporting of falls using a calendar
12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Daily Activity Performance.
Time Frame: 12 months
Participant daily activity performance will be measured by the Older Americans Resources and Services (OARS) ADL Scale. OARS = Older Americans Resources and Services scores range from 0-28 with higher scores indicating more independence in daily activities
12 months
Fear of Falling
Time Frame: 12 months
Concern about falling was measured using the Short Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I). Respondents rate their level of concern about falling when they perform 7 different activities. Response options range from 1 (not at all concerned) to 4 (very concerned) . Scores are summed across items, and total scores range from 7 (no concern) to 28 (severe concern).
12 months
Health-related Quality of Life.
Time Frame: 12 months
Participant self-reported health will be measured using the SF-36. Patients rate responses that are then scored and transformed to a 0-100 scale where higher scores indicate greater quality of life.
12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Washington University School of Medicine

Collaborators

US Department of Housing and Urban Development

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Susan L Stark, PhD, Washington University School of Medicine

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

February 24, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2017

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 5, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 12, 2015

First Posted (Estimated)

March 18, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

August 27, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 25, 2025

Last Verified

August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • MOHHU0024-14

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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