Citation

Tchalla AE, Lachal F, Cardinaud N, Saulnier I, Bhalla D, Roquejoffre A, Rialle V, Preux PM, Dantoine T. Arch. Gerontol. Geriatr. 2012; 55(3): 683-689.

Affiliation

CHU Limoges, Hôpital Dupuytren, Pôle de Personnes âgées et Soins à domicile, F-87042 Limoges, 2 Avenue Martin-Luther King, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Limoges, France; Université de Limoges, EA 6310 HAVAE Handicap Activité Vieillissement Autonomie Environnement, Limoges, F-87025, France.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.archger.2012.05.011

PMID

22743136

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Increasing age often implies increasing frailty, and the oldest old are often described as a frail group with a high risk of developing functional impairments and multi-morbidities like falls at home, which often result in dependence in daily activities. This preliminary study evaluate the efficacy of light path coupled with tele-assistance service for preventing unintentional falls at home in a frail elderly population. METHODS: Study design is a longitudinal prospective cohort study from 1st July 2009 to 30 June 2010. The program included 194 adults aged 65 and over living at home and registered on a list of frail elderly people. Participants were uniformly asked about their history of falls during the year prior to their most recent health examination. The recall period was one year. RESULTS: We observed that 77 (40.5%) elderly fell at home, 29 (30.9%) in the exposed group and 48 (50.0%) in the unexposed group. The use of light path coupled with tele-assistance was significantly associated with the reduction in falls at home, odd ratio=0.33 95%CI [0.17-0.65] p value=0.0012. There was also a greater reduction in post-fall hospitalization rate among exposed group with odd ratio=0.30 95%CI [0.12-0.74] p value=0.0091. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study showed that the use of light path coupled with tele-assistance service significantly reduced the incidence of unintentional falling at home among frail elderly population. This result should be confirmed by a randomized trial.

Language: en