title: The 'Ossebo' intervention for the prevention of injurious falls in elderly women: background and design.
abstract: This paper reviews the literature that contributed to the design of the 'Ossébo' intervention and describes the study that is underway.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Falls and fall-related injuries are a major cause of morbidity and mortality among older people. Extensive research into falls prevention has established physical exercise as an efficient method to reduce falls, but the effect of exercise on serious injuries caused by falls remains unclear. Moreover, populations that would benefit most from these interventions, as well as factors that determine adherence to exercise remain underreported. THE OSSÉBO INTERVENTION: 'Ossébo' is an on-going multicenter randomized controlled trial, aiming to assess the effect of a two-year community-based group physical exercise program on the prevention of falls among women aged 75-85 years old. The primary outcome examined is the rate of falls and injurious falls: secondary outcomes include functional capacities, fear of falling and quality of life. This study will help determine the effectiveness of a large scale falls prevention program and the factors that can potentially assist its success.
authors.affiliation: Université Paris-Sud, UMRS 1018, F-94805, Villejuif, France. icia.Dargent@inserm.fr
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dargent-Molina
authors.forename: Fabienne
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: El Khoury
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cassou
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000061:Accidents, Home / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004779:Environment Design; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D009043:Motor Activity; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
keywords: elderly; physical activity; prevention