Interdisciplinary Falls Prevention for Seniors

Injuries Clinical Trial

Official title:

The Comparative Effects and Expenses of a Proactive Nurse-Led, Multifactorial and Interdisciplinary Team Approach to Falls Prevention for Older At-Risk Home Care Clients

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT00463658
• Other study ID #: RFAAA0506164
• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 1
• First received: April 18, 2007
• Last updated: May 5, 2008
• Start date: May 2006
• Est. completion date: August 2007

Study information

• Verified date: May 2008
• Source: McMaster University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: Canada: Ethics Review Committee
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

With an aging population, an associated increase in the number of falls and fall injuries, there is a need to examine how health care services, such as home care, can best prevent falls among older people. This project will directly address this area by evaluating the effects and expense of an innovative approach to home care service delivery for older people at-risk for falls.

Description:

Falls and fall injuries are common-potentially preventable-causes of mortality, morbidity, functional decline, and increased health-care use and cost among community-living seniors over 75 years of age.

The knowledge gained from this project will directly address the Canadian Patient Safety Institute's priority areas for research in the Applied Health Services Research Stream by evaluating an innovative approach to reducing adverse events in a community-based (home care) setting.

The project will also identify the prevalence, determinants and costs of falls and fall injuries among older people requiring home care services. The design will be a two-armed; single blind randomized controlled trial of 110 older people 75 years and over, at risk for falls receiving hom care in Ontario. Subjects will be randomly allocated to either usual home care (control) or the interdisciplinary team. In the interdisciplinary group, a team of professional home care service providers, with specialized training in falls prevention, will proactively provide a comprehensive, coordinated and evidence based approach to falls prevention. The results will inform policies and practice related to the allocation and delivery of home care services for falls prevention across Canada.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 109
• Est. completion date: August 2007
• Est. primary completion date: August 2007
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 75 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Must be English speaking

• 75 years of age and over

• Newly referred to and eligible for personal support services

• Living at home in the community

• Identified as being at risk for falls

Exclusion Criteria:

• Refusal to give informed consent

• Unable to read/write English and a translator is not available

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Double Blind (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor), Primary Purpose: Prevention

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Injuries

Intervention

Other:
• Falls Prevention
Subjects in the interdisciplinary group will receive home care services from a team of professional service providers (CCAC Case Manager, Public Health Nurse (Registered Nurse), Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist, Nutritionist) with experience and training in falls prevention. The team will provide a comprehensive, coordinated and evidence based approach to falls prevention through weekly case conferencing, a written interdisciplinary care plan, and joint client visits.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Canada	McMaster University - Faculty of Health Sciences at Frid	Hamilton	Ontario

Sponsors (7)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation	Canadian Patient Safety Institute, Community Rehab, Halton Region Health Department, Hamilton-Niagara-Haldimand-Brant Community Care Access Centre, Mississauga Halton Community Care Access Centre, Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Canada, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Number of self-reported falls: Falls surveillance report		10 minutes	No
Secondary	Health-Related Quality of Life and Function: SF-36 Health Survey		15-20 minutes	No
Secondary	Gait and Balance: Performance-Oriented Mobility Assessment		10 minutes	No
Secondary	Depression: Centre for Epidemiological Studies in Depression Scale		5-10 minutes	No
Secondary	Standardized Mini Mental State Examination		20-25 minutes	No
Secondary	Confidence in Performing Activities of Daily Living: Modified Falls Efficacy Scale		5-10 minutes	No
Secondary	Nutritional risk: Screen II Questionnaire		10-15 minutes	No
Secondary	Cost of Use of Health Services: Health and Social Services Utilization Questionnaire		20 minutes	No
Secondary	Caregiver burden: Caregiver Strain Index		5-10 minutes	No