Clinical trial NCT03190460: Evaluating Technology-Based Fall Prevention Interventions
Official title: Influence of Cognitive Training on Fall Prevention in At Risk Older Adults
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Falls (Accidents) in Old Age
Lead sponsor: University of Washington
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
First posted: 2017-06-16
Enrollment: 60
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 65
Maximum age (years): 89
Standard ages: OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: Approximately one in three older adults fall annually and it is the primary cause of traumatic injury in older adults. While exercise and balance programs have been shown to be effective in reducing fall risk, maintaining behavior change is known to be difficult. Thus additional interventions need to be validated to add to our current armamentarium to reduce falls in older adults. Cognitive training (CT) involves exercises that target specific cognitive tasks, such as memory or processing speed. It has been speculated that routinely performing such tasks may increase functional ability. Recent work has pointed to an increased risk of falls in community-dwelling older adults who have alterations in specific cognitive tasks. Thus the purpose of the proposed study is to demonstrate the feasibility and to explore the effectiveness of a 16 week CT intervention to reduce risk and incidence of fall and improve outcomes up to 1 month post-intervention in a group of community dwelling older adults at risk for fall.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* 65-89 years old
* speak and read English
* live within 30 miles of the University of Washington
* a score of 4 or higher on the Memory Impairment Screen (MIS-T)
* regular access to a computer with internet capability (whether at home, friend/family, community center, public library, or other)
* a positive response to any of the following three fall related questions: i) Have you had two or more falls in the prior 12 months? ii) Are you responding to the advertisement because of a recent fall? iii) Do you have difficulty with walking or balance?
* \<53 seconds on 90 second balance test or gait speed \<1m/sec.

Exclusion Criteria:

* current participation in formal cognitive training program
* currently bedridden or wheelchair dependent

Primary outcomes:
measure: Falls
timeFrame: 16 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Disability
timeFrame: 8 weeks, 16 weeks, 20 weeks.
measure: Cognitive Assessment
timeFrame: 8 weeks, 16 weeks, 20 weeks
measure: Gait Assessment
timeFrame: 8 weeks, 16 weeks, 20 weeks
measure: Balance Assessment
timeFrame: 8 weeks, 16 weeks, 20 weeks
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Seattle
country: United States
facility: University of Washington
state: Washington
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Washington
name: Hilaire Thompson
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Thompson HJ, McGough E, Demiris G. Falls and Cognitive Training 2 (FaCT2) study protocol: a randomised controlled trial exploring cognitive training to reduce risk of falls in at-risk older adults. Inj Prev. 2020 Aug;26(4):370-377. doi: 10.1136/injuryprev-2019-043332. Epub 2019 Aug 26.