Primary Outcome Measures:
- Rate of falls among high-risk older adults randomized to the individualized multifactorial intervention [ Time Frame: over one year ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
Secondary Outcome Measures:
- Rate of fall-related hospitalizations among older adults in the intervention [ Time Frame: one year ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
The purposes of the project are:
- To test, in a randomized, controlled, single-blind study design, whether a multifactorial intervention for high-risk older adults will decrease the rate of falls compared to a control group receiving a home safety and nutrition booklet by mail;
- To enhance existing health professional knowledge base to support fall prevention;
- To test, in a quasi-experimental study design, the ability of a community-wide health professional educational program to decrease the rate of fall-related hospitalizations among older adults (both high and low-risk) in Dane County compared to control counties in Wisconsin.
We hypothesize that:
The rate of falls will be 40% lower over one year among high-risk older adults randomized to the individualized multifactorial intervention (combined with health professional education), compared to those randomized to home safety and nutrition booklets (combined with health professional education) in Dane County.
A health professional education program about fall prevention will decrease the rate of fall-related hospitalizations among older adults (both high and low-risk) in the intervention county by 10%, compared to an anticipated no change from baseline in control counties.