RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 007 Participation in ‘stepping on’ fall prevention program reduces falls and frailty in older community dwellers
JF Injury Prevention
JO Inj Prev
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP A1
OP A1
DO 10.1136/injuryprev-2022-SAVIR.2
VO 28
IS Suppl 1
A1 Galet, Colette
A1 Lee, Kathleen
A1 Lilienthal, Michele
A1 Skeete, Dionne
YR 2022
UL http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/28/Suppl_1/A1.2.abstract
AB Statement of Purpose To assess the impact of the ‘Stepping On’ fall prevention program on the incidence of falls and frailty measures.Methods/Approach Older adults who participated in the ‘Stepping On’ fall prevention program facilitated by our institution from April 2018 through September 2019 were included in this study. Non-English speakers and participants who were unable to answer our surveys themselves were excluded. Participants filled out pre and post-fall prevention program questionnaires and the Frail Scale assessment at baseline and post-program. They also completed a follow up questionnaire and Frail scale assessment at 6- and 12- months intervals post-program. Univariate analysis was performed comparing robust, pre-frail, and frail subjects. P < 0.05 was considered significant.Results Sixty-four participants were enrolled; 47 completed the study. Of those, 11 were robust, 29 were pre-frail, and seven were frail based on their Frail Scale scores. Frail participants were significantly older (77 ± 5.4 vs. 73.9 ± 5.8 vs. 72.8 ± 5.5, p = 0.026), more likely to live alone (71.4% vs. 65.5% vs. 18.2%, p = 0.017), and less likely to have a college degree (28.6% vs. 72.5% vs. 100%, p = 0.004) when compared to pre-frail and robust participants. At 12-months post-program, a significant decrease in fall reporting when compared to baseline was observed (12.8% vs. 29.8%, p = 0.044). A significant decrease in frailty scores was also observed (0.91 ± 1.1 vs. 1.3 ± 1.082, p = 0.009). Our data show that 41.4% of the pre-frail participants at baseline improved to robust.Conclusion Participation in ‘Stepping On’ led to a decrease in reported falls and in frailty scores 12 months post-program, suggesting that participation in ‘Stepping On’ may help delay frailty progression.Significance Our data highlight the importance of fall prevention programs for older community dwellers, supporting healthy living.