Guangzhou Community Elderly Fall Prevention Appropriate Technology Promotion Project

This Guangzhou-based project uses a randomized controlled trial to test home environment modifications (e.g., anti-slip mats, lighting) for preventing falls among 320 community-dwelling elders. Over 12 months, it assesses effectiveness, cost-efficiency, and scalability, with rigorous quality control and multi-level stakeholder collaboration.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Fall; Old Age
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Home Environment Assessment and Modification

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 320
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Run Doctor wang, Phd; Phone Number: +8619865182576; Email: runwang@i.smu.edu.cn

Study Locations

• China
  • Guangdong
    • Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510900
      • Recruiting
      • Guangzhoucenter Fordisease Control and Prevention（Guangzhou Health Supervision Institute）
      • Contact: tingyuan huang, Phd; Phone Number: +8618565238524; Email: 41165996@qq.com

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Between 60 and 80 years old (inclusive).
• Community-dwelling.
• Planning to reside at the current address for the next 12 months.
• Able to walk 50 meters unaided (can use a cane).
• Experienced one or more falls in the past 2 years, OR Is "very worried" or "somewhat worried" about falling (even without a fall history).
• Willing to participate in the 12-month fall prevention program and follow-up assessments.
• Possesses basic literacy skills (equivalent to elementary school level or above) and is capable of normal communication with the investigators, as judged by the staff.
• In a stable health condition to participate, as determined by the investigator.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Having an acute disease or an acute episode of a chronic disease.
• Having hearing, vision, or cognitive impairments, or self-reported neurological or psychiatric diseases (e.g., epilepsy, dementia) that prevent normal communication and learning.
• Self-reported serious diseases (e.g., cardiac, cerebral, renal, hepatic, respiratory, or hematologic systems) and judged by a doctor or on-site assessor as intolerant to physical activity.
• Diagnosed with conditions that explicitly affect balance function (e.g., vestibular disorders, cerebellar system lesions, vertigo, Ménière's disease).
• Requires a wheelchair or assistance from another person to walk.
• Likely to move away from the current residence or be absent for an extended period within the next 6 months.
• Unwilling to accept the 12-month follow-up.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Home Environment Assessment and Modification; Participants randomized to this arm receive a multi-component intervention. A trained community health worker conducts a one-time, comprehensive in-home assessment of fall hazards using a standardized checklist. Based on the assessment, the participant receives personalized, face-to-face advice for environmental modifications and is provided with, and instructed on the use of, essential safety aids including non-slip mats, night lights, anti-fall warning signs, and double-sided tape (for securing rugs). This core intervention is delivered once, 4-6 weeks after the baseline survey. All participants (in both arms) are followed up monthly for 12 months to collect data on falls.	Behavioral: Home Environment Assessment and Modification; Participants randomized to this arm receive a multi-component intervention. A trained community health worker conducts a one-time, comprehensive in-home assessment of fall hazards using a standardized checklist. Based on the assessment, the participant receives personalized, face-to-face advice for environmental modifications and is provided with, and instructed on the use of, essential safety aids including non-slip mats, night lights, anti-fall warning signs, and double-sided tape (for securing rugs). This core intervention is delivered once, 4-6 weeks after the baseline survey. All participants (in both arms) are followed up monthly for 12 months to collect data on falls.
No Intervention: Control; Participants randomized to this arm do not receive the home environment assessment, modification advice, or any safety aids. They continue with their usual activities. To ensure balanced data collection, they undergo identical baseline and outcome assessments (at 6 and 12 months) as the intervention group, and their falls are similarly tracked via monthly fall calendars for the 12-month study period.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
The rate of falling in each group	Falls will be monitored with supplied monthly fall diaries.	Time Frame: Baseline, 6-month, 12-month]

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) regarding Fall Prevention	Measuring Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) regarding fall using a self-administered questionnaire. Regarding the questionnaire measurement section, we would like to clarify that the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAP) survey in our study was scored and assessed as a holistic construct or a composite measure. The overall KAP score was used for primary reporting and statistical analysis, rather than treating Knowledge (K), Attitude (A), and Practices (P) as three independent, separately analyzed dimensions or subscales.	Time Frame: Baseline, 6-month, 12-month
Fall efficacy in each group	Fall efficacy will be monitored with 'Falls Efficacy Scale International, FES-I', and each item is scored on a scale of 1 to 4 (from "not at all confident" to "very confident"), with a total score of 16 to 64, with higher scores indicating a greater sense of fall efficacy or self-confidence.	Time Frame: Baseline, 6-month, 12-month
Quality of life in each group	Quality of life will be monitored with 'the 12-item MOS Short-form Health Survey version 2, SF-12 V.2'. All entries except 1, 8, 9 and 10 are positively scored and the total score is calculated by the scale's unique standardised method, with a minimum score of 0 and a maximum score of 100	Time Frame: Baseline, 6-month, 12-month
Timed Up and Go (TUG) Test	Description: The Timed Up and Go (TUG) Test is a simple, performance-based assessment of functional mobility, dynamic balance, and fall risk. It measures the time (in seconds) a person takes to stand up from a standard chair, walk 3 meters at a comfortable and safe pace, turn around, walk back to the chair, and sit down again. Key Metrics: Score Range: The result is a continuous time measurement in seconds. There is no predefined minimum or maximum score, as it is a timed test. Interpretation: A higher score (longer time) indicates worse performance-specifically, greater mobility impairment, higher fall risk, and reduced functional independence. Common Clinical Cut-off: While not a strict maximum, a time of ≥10 seconds for community-dwelling older adults is often used as a clinical indicator of potential mobility limitations and increased fall risk. Times significantly above 10-12 seconds suggest higher impairment.	Time Frame: Baseline, 6-month, 12-month

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention
• Collaborators: Southern Medical University, China

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): February 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): February 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 2, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 4, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): March 9, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 23, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 19, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: RCT; Fall Prevention; Cost-Effectiveness Analysis; Community-Dwelling Older Adults; Home Hazard Assessment and Modification
• Other Study ID Numbers: GZCDC-ECHR-2025P0088

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

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