INTERVENTIONS TO PREVENT FALLS IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS - US PREVENTIVE SERVICES TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE

In the United States (US), falls are a leading cause of injury-related morbidity and mortality among older adults. This is why the US Preventative Service Task Force (USPSTF- a volunteer panel of experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine) performed a vigorous fall-prevention research review resulting in this publication.

METHODS

Population: Community-dwelling older adults without a diagnosis of osteoporosis or vitamin D deficiency.

Design: The USPSTF recommendations are based on a grading systems and a certainty classification system. See Table 1 and 2 for more details.

Table 1: USPSTF Grading System

Table 2: Levels of Certainty

RESULTS

The USPSTF reviewed 62 trials on the use of exercise, multifactorial interventions, vitamin D supplementation, environmental modifications, psychological interventions, and multiple interventions to prevent falls as well as fall-related morbidity and mortality. They found that the most commonly reported interventions

Start free trial

to unlock full access to this review and 811 more

Or log in here