title: Cost-effectiveness of a multidisciplinary fall prevention program in community-dwelling elderly people: a randomized controlled trial (ISRCTN 64716113).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Multidisciplinary and multifactorial interventions seem to be effective in preventing falls. We aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of a multidisciplinary fall prevention program compared with usual Dutch healthcare in community-dwelling people 65 years of age or older who experienced a fall.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis were performed from a societal perspective. Falls and healthcare utilization were continuously measured for 12 months. Daily functioning and quality of life were measured at baseline, after 4 and 12 months. Bootstrap analyses were performed to estimate uncertainty of the findings and sensitivity analysis to assess the generalizability of assumptions made.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred sixty-six participants were randomly allocated to the experimental group and 167 to the control group. The overall response rate was 74 percent. Healthcare and patient and family costs of both groups were comparable. Our analyses showed no effect of the intervention program on falls, daily functioning, or quality of life measures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The multidisciplinary intervention program to prevent falls was not cost-effective compared with usual care in the Netherlands. Notwithstanding our findings, however, falls still have an important impact on society and individuals in terms of costs and effects. Economic evaluations studying promising interventions to prevent falls, therefore, remain necessary.
authors.affiliation: Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. m.hendriks@zw.unimaas.nl
authors.forename: Marike R C
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Hendriks
authors.forename: Silvia M A A
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Evers
authors.forename: Michel H C
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Bleijlevens
authors.forename: Jolanda C M
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: van Haastregt
authors.forename: Harry F J M
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Crebolder
authors.forename: Jacques Th M
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: van Eijk
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000191:economics* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D005853:Geriatrics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009788:Occupational Therapy; D011788:Quality of Life; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D016896:Treatment Outcome