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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Interventions for Preventing Falls in Older People Living in the Community

About this resource:

Systematic Review

Source: The Cochrane Collaborative

Last Reviewed: September 2012

Workgroups: Injury and Violence Prevention Workgroup, Older Adults Workgroup

In this Cochrane systematic review, the Cochrane Collaborative found that group or home-based exercise programs and safety interventions reduce falls and fall risk in people older than 65 years who live in the community. Researchers also found that multifactorial interventions — which include an assessment of someone’s risk of falling — reduce the rate of falls but not fall risk. They also found that tai chi reduces the risk of falling and that vitamin D supplements may reduce falls in people with lower vitamin D levels before treatment. Researchers found inconclusive evidence for only offering educational materials as a way to prevent falls.

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Objectives related to this resource (2)

Reduce fall-related deaths among older adults — IVP‑08
Getting worse
Reduce the rate of emergency department visits due to falls among older adults — OA‑03
Baseline only

Suggested Citation

1.

Gillespie, L. D., Robertson, M. C., Gillespie, W. J., Sherrington, C., Gates, S., Clemson, L. M., & Lamb, S. E. (2012). Interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community, 2012 (9). DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007146.pub3.