Citation

Gerson LW, Camargo CA, Wilber ST. Am. J. Emerg. Med. 2005; 23(3): 295-298.

Affiliation

Department of Community Health Sciences, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, PO Box 95, Rootstown, OH 44272, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

15915400

Abstract

This trial was conducted at 11 EDs to test the effectiveness of distributing fall prevention information to patients 65 years or older. Intervention patients were given 2 brochures and received a reminder call 2 weeks later. All patients were called at 1 month and asked if they made home safety modifications. Three hundred ninety-seven patients were enrolled (118 control, 279 intervention). Seventy-six percent had complete follow up interviews. Nine percent of control and 8% of intervention patients reported a home modification (95% confidence interval on difference, -8.1% to 5.5%). Patients who fell in the prior year had a 2.0 increased odds (95% confidence interval, 0.8-4.6) of making a home modification. The similar home modification rates in the 2 study groups suggest that even minimum discussion (eg, the informed consent procedure) may increase patients' fall prevention activities. The stronger association in patients who fell suggests that a targeted program may have added benefit.