title: Tailored multifactorial intervention to improve dizziness symptoms and quality of life, balance and gait in dizziness sufferers aged over 50 years: protocol for a randomised controlled trial.
abstract: Dizziness is a frequently reported symptom in older people that can markedly impair quality of life. This manuscript presents the protocol for a randomised controlled trial, which has the main objective of determining the impact of comprehensive assessment followed by a tailored multifaceted intervention in reducing dizziness episodes and symptoms, improving associated impairments to balance and gait and enhancing quality of life in older people with self-reported significant dizziness.
  
  
  
  Three hundred people aged 50 years or older, reporting significant dizziness in the past year will be recruited to participate in the trial. Participants allocated to the intervention group will receive a tailored, multifaceted intervention aimed at treating their dizziness symptoms over a 6 month trial period. Control participants will receive usual care. The primary outcome measures will be the frequency and duration of dizziness episodes, dizziness symptoms assessed with the Dizziness Handicap Inventory, choice-stepping reaction time and step time variability. Secondary outcomes will include health-related quality of life measures, depression and anxiety symptoms, concern about falling, balance and risk of falls assessed with the physiological fall risk assessment. Analyses will be by intention-to-treat.
  
  
  
  The study will determine the effectiveness of comprehensive assessment, combined with a tailored, multifaceted intervention on dizziness episodes and symptoms, balance and gait control and quality of life in older people experiencing dizziness. Clinical implications will be evident for the older population for the diagnosis and treatment of dizziness.
  
  
  
  The study is registered with the Australia New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12612000379819 .
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Australia, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.|School of Public Health & Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Jasmine C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Menant
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Australia, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Americo A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Migliaccio
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Australia, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Cameron
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hicks
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Australia, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Australia, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.|School of Public Health & Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Meinrath
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Australia, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Mayna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ratanapongleka
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Australia, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Australia, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Daina L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Sturnieks
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Australia, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.|School of Public Health & Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Delbaere
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Nickolai
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Titov
authors.affiliation: Prince of Wales Clinical School, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McVeigh
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Australia, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.|Prince of Wales Clinical School, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Jacqueline C T
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Close
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Australia, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. s.lord@neura.edu.au.|School of Public Health & Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. s.lord@neura.edu.au.
authors.forename: Stephen R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Lord
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D001315:Australia; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D004244:Dizziness / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009520:New Zealand; D004856:Postural Balance; D011788:Quality of Life; D011897:Random Allocation; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D018570:Risk Assessment; D018401:Sample Size; D015837:Vestibular Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: Accidental falls; Aged; Dizziness; Light-headedness; Postural balance; Randomised controlled trial; Vertigo; Vestibular