title: Falls efficacy among older adults enrolled in an evidence-based program to reduce fall-related risk: sustainability of individual benefits over time.
abstract: Grand-scale community rollouts of evidence-based programs seldom have the capacity to examine long-term sustainability of beneficial effects among older adults. This study examined the effectiveness of A Matter of Balance/Volunteer Lay Leader Model, an evidence-based fall risk reduction program, to sustain fall-related efficacy improvements among 282 older adult participants using data collected at 3 time points: baseline, postintervention, and 6-month follow-up. A linear mixed model and multilevel logistic regression models were used. Falls Efficacy Scale and individual item scores significantly increased from baseline to postintervention. While most efficacy-related scores tapered after postintervention, all changes remained significant at 6-month follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Promotion and Behavior, The University of Georgia College of Public Health, Athens 30602, USA. health@uga.edu
authors.forename: Matthew Lee
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Luohua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Marcia G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Ory
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D011594:Psychometrics; D018570:Risk Assessment; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013997:Time Factors