Strategies for Preventing Falls in the Elderly (Telehealth)

Federal University of Health Science of Porto Alegre

Status: Completed

Conditions: Prevention; Elderly; Fall; Physical Therapy; Telehealth

Treatments: Other: real-time intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06089213

HPSPoA

Details and patient eligibility

About

Fall incidents are the third cause of chronic disability in the elderly, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Recent reviews demonstrate that multifactorial and multicomponent intervention programs are effective in preventing falls in community-dwelling older adults. However, the application of these programs may not be accessible to a large part of the elderly population. The lack of continuity in the treatment of the consequences of falls, as well as the dissemination of prevention measures for this patient profile, could be minimized through the use of information and communication technologies. Method: This will be a randomized clinical trial that aims to evaluate the effects of two fall prevention strategies via telerehabilitation for elderly fallers after admission to an emergency room. It will be carried out by a multidisciplinary team with interventions for eight weeks and monitoring of outcomes over a period of four months. Patients will be evaluated regarding aspects of functionality in the second and month after the interventions and regarding the recurrence of falls during the four-month period. Discussion: The hypothesis is that the programs are viable in terms of accessibility to home training. However, to date, there is no evidence about the differences between these forms of interventions to prevent falls via telecare.

Full description

To compare the effects of two different strategies for preventing falls through telerehabilitation for elderly fallers after admission to an emergency room.

Enrollment: 20 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 60 to 99 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• elderly fallers

Exclusion criteria

• neurological diseases

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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20 participants in 2 patient groups

Interactive services

Experimental group

Description:

Otago exercises performed in "real-time" or "synchronous" mode of digital health care. It consists of direct communication between physiotherapist and the patient.

Treatment:

Other: real-time intervention

Remote telemonitoring

Active Comparator group

Description:

Otago exercises performed remotely, using technologies such as messaging apps. It consists of indirect communication between physiotherapist and the patient.

Treatment:

Other: real-time intervention