title: Evaluation of the falls telephone: an automated system for enduring assessment of falls.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the reliability and user experiences of an automated telephone system to monitor falls during a prolonged period of time.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four neurological outpatient clinics in the Netherlands.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred nineteen community-dwelling people with Parkinson's disease without dementia, because falls are common in this population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical and demographic data were obtained. The Falls Telephone is a computerized telephone system through which participants can enter the number of falls during a particular period. During a follow-up of 1 to 40 weekly calls, 2,465 calls were made. In total, 173 no-fall entries and 115 fall entries were verified using personal telephone interviews. User experiences were evaluated in 90 of the 119 participants using structured telephone interviews.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All no-fall entries and 78% of fall entries were confirmed to be correct. Sensitivity to detect falls was 100%, and specificity was 87%. Users regarded the Falls Telephone as a convenient tool to monitor falls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Falls Telephone is a convenient and reliable instrument to monitor falls. The automated system has high specificity, obviating the need for time-consuming personal follow-up calls in the majority of nonfallers. As such, the Falls Telephone lends itself well to data collection in large trials with prolonged follow-up in participants with Parkinson's disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marjolein A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: van der Marck
authors.forename: Sebastiaan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Overeem
authors.forename: Philomène C M
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Klok
authors.forename: Bastiaan R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Bloem
authors.forename: Marten
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Munneke
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008331:Management Information Systems / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013689:Telephone