title: Preventing falls in community-dwelling frail older people using a home intervention team (HIT): results from the randomized Falls-HIT trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect of an intervention by a multidisciplinary team to reduce falls in older people's homes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomized, controlled trial with follow-up of subjects for 1 year.
  
  
  METHODS
  University-affiliated geriatric hospital and older patients' homes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred sixty subjects (mean age +/- standard deviation = 81.5 +/- 6.4) admitted from home to a geriatric hospital and showing functional decline, especially in mobility.
  
  
  METHODS
  The participants were randomly assigned to receive a comprehensive geriatric assessment followed by a diagnostic home visit and home intervention or a comprehensive geriatric assessment with recommendations and usual care at home. The home intervention included a diagnostic home visit, assessing the home for environmental hazards, advice about possible changes, offer of facilities for any necessary home modifications, and training in the use of technical and mobility aids. An additional home visit was made after 3 months to reinforce the recommendations. After 12 months of follow-up, a home visit was made to all study participants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Number of falls, type of recommended home modifications, and compliance with recommendations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After 1 year, there were 163 falls in the intervention group and 204 falls in the control group. The intervention group had 31% fewer falls than the control group (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 0.69, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.51-0.97). The intervention was most effective in a subgroup of participants who reported having had two or more falls during the year before recruitment into the study. In this subgroup, the proportion of frequent fallers and the rate of falls was significantly reduced for the intervention group compared with the control group (21 vs 36 subjects with recurrent falls, P =.009; IRR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.43-0.94). The compliance rate varied with the type of change recommended from 83% to 33% after 12 months of follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Home intervention based on home visits to assess the home for environmental hazards, providing information about possible changes, facilitating any necessary modifications, and training in the use of technical and mobility aids was effective in a selected group of frail older subjects with a history of recurrent falling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Medicine, University of Ulm and Bethesda Geriatric Clinic, Zollernring 26, D-89073 Ulm, Germany. thorsten.nikolaus@medizin.uni-ulm.de
authors.forename: Thorsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nikolaus
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bach
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000061:Accidents, Home / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016330:Frail Elderly; D018575:Home Care Services, Hospital-Based; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male