PREVENTING FALLS AMONG COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER PERSONS - RESULTS FROM A RANDOMIZED TRIAL

A randomized trial of a falls prevention program that addressed home s afety, exercise, and behavioral risks was conducted with 3,182 indepen dently living HMO members age 65 and older. The intervention decreased the odds of falling by 0.85, but only reduced the average number of f alls among those who fell by 7%. The effect was strongest among men ag e 75 and older. The likelihood of avoiding falls requiring medical tre atment was not significantly affected by the intervention. We conclude that the intervention dose was not of sufficient intensity or duratio n to have a marked protective effect on older persons. Future research should focus on more intensive intervention approaches because seriou s falls do not appear to be amenable to low-intensity environment/beha vioral efforts.