Huang,, Hui-Chi, Liu, Chieh-Yu, Huang, Yu-Tai and Kernohan, W George (2010) Community-based interventions to reduce falls among older adults inTaiwan – long time follow-up randomised controlled study. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19 . pp. 959-968. [Journal article]
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Aims. The aim of the study was to examine the effects of different interventions that are used to prevent falls. These wereeducation, Tai Chi Chuan and education plus Tai Chi Chuan; the study involved a five-month implantation period and a oneyearfollow-up period.Background. With advancing years, a fall can be very serious and an increased number of falls/re-falls among older adults hasbeen noted. Hence, both education about risk factors and balance exercise programs such as Tai Chi Chuan may help to preventfalls.Design. This study adopted a randomised case-controlled design with a two-by-two factorial approach. It included threeintervention groups and one control group in a community-based program.Methods. Cluster-randomised sampling was used and four villages in Taiwan City were selected. Three interventions groupsand one control group were involved over five-months from late July 2000–January 2001 and each participant was followed upone year later (n = 163).Results. The intervention involving education plus Tai Chi Chuan resulted in a statistically significant reduction in falls and therisk factors of falls over the five-month intervention. After one-year follow-up, participants receiving any one of the interventionsshowed a reduction in falls compared with the control group.Conclusions. Tai Chi Chuan was able to improve gait balance significantly. Education may also help participants to preventfalls-by eliminating related risk factors present in their environment. However, it was found that at the one-year follow-up, anyone of the three interventions had reduced falls significantly.Relevance to clinical practice. The prevention of falls among older adults seems to needs multiple interventions. Education plusTai Chi Chuan has both an immediately and a long-term effect and it is possible that a shorter intervention period using thisapproach would also be successful.
|Item Type:||Journal article|
|Keywords:||community, education, falls, older people, risk assessment, Tai Chi Chuan|
|Faculties and Schools:||Faculty of Life and Health Sciences|
Faculty of Life and Health Sciences > School of Nursing
|Research Institutes and Groups:||Institute of Nursing and Health Research|
Institute of Nursing and Health Research > Person-centred Practice
|Deposited By:||Professor George Kernohan|
|Deposited On:||05 Jul 2010 10:53|
|Last Modified:||23 Jul 2012 13:52|
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