Strategies for Preventing Falls in the Elderly (Telehealth)

Effects of Two Strategies for Preventing Falls in the Elderly Through Telerehabilitation: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Fall incidents are the third cause of chronic disability in the elderly, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Recent reviews demonstrate that multifactorial and multicomponent intervention programs are effective in preventing falls in community-dwelling older adults. However, the application of these programs may not be accessible to a large part of the elderly population. The lack of continuity in the treatment of the consequences of falls, as well as the dissemination of prevention measures for this patient profile, could be minimized through the use of information and communication technologies. Method: This will be a randomized clinical trial that aims to evaluate the effects of two fall prevention strategies via telerehabilitation for elderly fallers after admission to an emergency room. It will be carried out by a multidisciplinary team with interventions for eight weeks and monitoring of outcomes over a period of four months. Patients will be evaluated regarding aspects of functionality in the second and month after the interventions and regarding the recurrence of falls during the four-month period. Discussion: The hypothesis is that the programs are viable in terms of accessibility to home training. However, to date, there is no evidence about the differences between these forms of interventions to prevent falls via telecare.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Fall; Elderly; Physical Therapy; Prevention; Telehealth
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: real-time intervention

Detailed Description

To compare the effects of two different strategies for preventing falls through telerehabilitation for elderly fallers after admission to an emergency room.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 20
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Brazil
  • RS
    • Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil, 90880-370
      • Hospital de Pronto Socorro

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• elderly fallers

Exclusion Criteria:

• neurological diseases

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Interactive services; Otago exercises performed in "real-time" or "synchronous" mode of digital health care. It consists of direct communication between physiotherapist and the patient.	Other: real-time intervention; An individual exercise program will be carried out at home, supervised remotely via videoconference.
Active Comparator: Remote telemonitoring; Otago exercises performed remotely, using technologies such as messaging apps. It consists of indirect communication between physiotherapist and the patient.	Other: real-time intervention; An individual exercise program will be carried out at home, supervised remotely via videoconference.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Rate of Falls	After the intervention periods, participants will be followed for another 16 weeks. Every week, recurrences of falls will be recorded via telephone calls. You will be asked whether there were falls in the period	four months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Concern of falls	The assessment will consist of Self-efficacy tests for Falls	through study completion, an average of 1 year
Balance	The assessment will consist of Timed-Up and Go test	through study completion, an average of 1 year
Arms Muscle strength	Palm Grip Strength	through study completion, an average of 1 year
Legs Muscle strength	Sitting and Rising from a Chair tests	through study completion, an average of 1 year
Functionality	Katz Index on elderly functionality evaluation for the analysis of basic activities	through study completion, an average of 1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Federal University of Health Science of Porto Alegre

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 1, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 1, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): September 2, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 26, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 16, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): October 18, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 18, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 16, 2023
• Last Verified: October 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: HPSPoA

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No