A Targeted Falls Prevention Program in Rehabilitation In-Patients

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Falls are a major complication in patients treated in rehabilitation departments, yet studies evaluating different interventions to reduce falls-risk are rare and inconclusive. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the efficacy of a multidisciplinary fall-prevention program to reduce falls and injury in stroke patients treated in a rehabilitation department. All stroke patients consecutively admitted to the department of rehabilitation at Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center for a period of one year will be eligible for inclusion. Upon receiving an informed consent subjects will be randomized to the intervention group or the control (convention care) group. There are no exclusion criteria. The Intervention includes group education on risk of falling and safe mobility and transfers; physical therapy of balance training at the patients' bedside twice weekly and medical assessment of medication use (anxiolytics/hypnotics, neuroleptics, antihypertensives and other vasodilators), orthostatic hypotension, urinary frequency/incontinence, delirium and visual problems. Intervention therapy will not be given as an extra time, rather at the same treatment time as the control group. Primary outcomes are rate of falls and related injuries.

Official Title
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A Targeted Falls Prevention Program in Rehabilitation In-Patients

Conditions
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Accidental Falls

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Multidisciplinary falls prevention


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: All stroke patients admitted to rehabilitation Exclusion Criteria: None

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 20 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Falls prevention<br> | Other: Multidisciplinary falls prevention<br>* Group education on falls risk and mobility and transfers safety; Physical therapy at the subjects' bedside consisting of balance training; Medical assessment - medications use (anxiolytics/hypnotics, neuroleptics, antihypertensives, antiarrhythmics and other vasodilators) with effort to discontinue or reduce dose when possible; orthostatic hypotension - discontinue/reduce dose of related medications; urinary frequency/incontinence - evaluation and treatment; delirium - evaluation and treatment; visual pathology - evaluation and treatment<br>|
| No Intervention: Control group<br>Routine rehabilitation treatment | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Rate of falls and fall-related injury |  | At one year | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Falls