Fall Prevention Program Using Home Floor Plans in an Acute-Care Hospital: A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial

Tetsuya Ueda (), Yumi Higuchi, Tatsunori Murakami, Wataru Kozuki, Gentoku Hattori and Hiromi Nomura
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Tetsuya Ueda: Course of Physical Therapy, Department of Rehabilitation Science, School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Habikino City 583-8555, Osaka, Japan
Yumi Higuchi: Course of Physical Therapy, Department of Rehabilitation Science, School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Habikino City 583-8555, Osaka, Japan
Tatsunori Murakami: Course of Physical Therapy, Department of Rehabilitation Science, School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Habikino City 583-8555, Osaka, Japan
Wataru Kozuki: Course of Physical Therapy, Department of Rehabilitation Science, School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Habikino City 583-8555, Osaka, Japan
Gentoku Hattori: Department of Rehabilitation, Yao Tokushukai General Hospital, Yao City 581-0011, Osaka, Japan
Hiromi Nomura: Department of Rehabilitation, Yao Tokushukai General Hospital, Yao City 581-0011, Osaka, Japan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 17, 1-9

Abstract: We provided fall prevention programs using home floor plans for older adult patients discharged from an acute-care hospital and verified the fall prevention measures’ effectiveness six months after discharge. The research design was a preliminary randomized controlled trial. Orthopedic patients with a falls’ history were randomized to the control ( n = 30) or the intervention groups ( n = 30). Before discharge, the control group was treated with general physiotherapy for their disease characteristics. The intervention group received the same programs before discharge; additionally, a simple house evaluation was conducted using the subject’s home floor plan. A six-month follow-up survey was conducted on falls and near-falls after discharge, completed by 51 of the 60 subjects (85%). Within two months, falls occurred in 7.7% of the control group but not in the intervention group, after which, falls occurred in the intervention group, and no significant difference was noted between the two groups (three-month ( p = 0.322) and six-month ( p = 0.931) follow-ups). The intervention group had significantly fewer near-falls than the control group within three months ( p = 0.034), but no significant difference was observed after three months. The results suggested that our program effectively expanded the role of an acute care hospital for discharged patients who need to transition from hospital care to home health care.

Keywords: fall prevention; acute-care hospital; intervention study; discharged patients; home floor plans (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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