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Falls and Fear of Falling among Persons Who Receive Housing Adaptations-Results from a Quasi-Experimental Study in Sweden

Carlsson, Gunilla LU ; Nilsson, Maria H LU orcid ; Ekstam, Lisa LU orcid ; Chiatti, Carlos LU and Malmgren Fänge, Agneta LU orcid (2017) In Healthcare 5(4).
Abstract

While health might deteriorate through the ageing and disablement process, the impacts of disability can be reduced by adapting the environment. This study aimed to investigate the effects of applying a standardized research-based strategy to housing adaptation as compared to ordinary practice with respect to falls and fear of falling. Another aim was to investigate the overall effects of housing adaptations on fall-related outcomes over time. In total, 196 clients were included at baseline, with follow-up at 3 and 6 months after the housing adaptation was implemented. The only significant difference between the two approaches was identified with respect to fear of falling at 3 months after the housing adaptation, but not after 6... (More)

While health might deteriorate through the ageing and disablement process, the impacts of disability can be reduced by adapting the environment. This study aimed to investigate the effects of applying a standardized research-based strategy to housing adaptation as compared to ordinary practice with respect to falls and fear of falling. Another aim was to investigate the overall effects of housing adaptations on fall-related outcomes over time. In total, 196 clients were included at baseline, with follow-up at 3 and 6 months after the housing adaptation was implemented. The only significant difference between the two approaches was identified with respect to fear of falling at 3 months after the housing adaptation, but not after 6 months. The number of clients reporting actual falls increased over time in both sites, whereas the number of reported near-falls decreased most in the intervention site, but without significant differences. Thus, the patterns of differences between the sites are inconsistent, as are the patterns of change in fall-related outcomes. An overall conclusion is that if the goal is to improve fall-related outcomes, housing adaptation should be complemented with other interventions preventing falls and explicitly address the clients' activity limitations. In addition, longer follow-up times are necessary.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Journal Article
in
Healthcare
volume
5
issue
4
article number
66
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • scopus:85054510827
  • pmid:28961158
ISSN
2227-9032
DOI
10.3390/healthcare5040066
project
FORMAS EVIDENCE – Longterm effects of housing adaptations for client and society
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
a1441413-afa2-407c-8295-a339deefb66a
date added to LUP
2018-03-19 15:20:38
date last changed
2025-01-10 02:48:27
@article{a1441413-afa2-407c-8295-a339deefb66a,
  abstract     = {{<p>While health might deteriorate through the ageing and disablement process, the impacts of disability can be reduced by adapting the environment. This study aimed to investigate the effects of applying a standardized research-based strategy to housing adaptation as compared to ordinary practice with respect to falls and fear of falling. Another aim was to investigate the overall effects of housing adaptations on fall-related outcomes over time. In total, 196 clients were included at baseline, with follow-up at 3 and 6 months after the housing adaptation was implemented. The only significant difference between the two approaches was identified with respect to fear of falling at 3 months after the housing adaptation, but not after 6 months. The number of clients reporting actual falls increased over time in both sites, whereas the number of reported near-falls decreased most in the intervention site, but without significant differences. Thus, the patterns of differences between the sites are inconsistent, as are the patterns of change in fall-related outcomes. An overall conclusion is that if the goal is to improve fall-related outcomes, housing adaptation should be complemented with other interventions preventing falls and explicitly address the clients' activity limitations. In addition, longer follow-up times are necessary.</p>}},
  author       = {{Carlsson, Gunilla and Nilsson, Maria H and Ekstam, Lisa and Chiatti, Carlos and Malmgren Fänge, Agneta}},
  issn         = {{2227-9032}},
  keywords     = {{Journal Article}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{09}},
  number       = {{4}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{Healthcare}},
  title        = {{Falls and Fear of Falling among Persons Who Receive Housing Adaptations-Results from a Quasi-Experimental Study in Sweden}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/healthcare5040066}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/healthcare5040066}},
  volume       = {{5}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}