Prevention Harmful Effects clinical trials

"Stay Balanced" - Prevention of Falls in Older Adults - From Clinical Research to Clinical Practice

Fall is one of the most common causes of ill health and morbidity in the older population. In Sweden about 300 000 people/year seek emergency treatment due to falls and out of these 1600 dies. Poor balance control leads to a sedentary life with muscle weakness, fear of falling and an increased risk for falls. Balance training and physical activity have positive effects on fall prevention and balance, but long-term follow-ups are limited. There is also a gap between what has been proven to be efficient in research and what is performed in communities and clinical settings. Many studies reports on the efficacy of certain treatment, method or training program, which often may have taken years to develop, but few of these results are taken further into clinical practice and it may take years for them to come into daily use. This delay means that there is a gap between what is known and what is consistently done. It if of importance implement methods that have been proven to have beneficial impact on health and physical function in a clinical trial. Furthermore to evaluate which strategies for implementation that are of significance. The aim of this study is to implement evidence based balance training into clinical practice to prevent future falls and fall-related injuries in older adults. The program has been proven to be efficient, but not yet been implemented in the community and clinical settings. Implementation outcomes will include effectiveness, acceptability, feasibility, fidelity, cost and sustainability. Outcome variables on individual level will be fall-related concerns, balance performance, physical function and activity, health related quality of life and number of falls. The investigators foresee that this balance training for older adults will prevent future falls and fall related injuries, increase physical activity level, health related quality of life and provide the participants with a strategy to be able to have a physically active and healthy life style.