Interventions for preventing falls in older people in care facilities
Abstract
Rationale: Falls in care facilities are common events, causing considerable morbidity and mortality for older people. This is an update of a review on interventions in care facilities and hospitals first published in 2010 and updated in 2012 and 2018 on interventions in care facilities and hospitals. This review has now been split into separate reviews for each setting.
Objectives: To assess the benefits and harms of interventions designed to reduce the incidence of falls in older people in care facilities.
Search methods: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and two trial registers to 10 May 2024 and used reference checking, citation searching, and contact with authors to identify eligible trials and records.
Eligibility criteria: We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of any intervention for preventing falls in older people (aged over 65 years) in care facilities with any comparator. We excluded trials conducted in places of residence that do not provide residential health-related care or rehabilitative services. We excluded trials where falls were recorded as adverse events of the intervention and those recruiting participants post-stroke or living with Parkinson's disease.
Outcomes: Critical outcomes were rate of falls (number of falls per unit time) and number of fallers (risk of experiencing one or more falls). Important outcomes were risk of fracture, adverse events, and economic outcomes.
Risk of…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 68,964 participants or records.
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