Effectiveness of a community-based multifaceted fall-prevention intervention in active and independent older Chinese adults

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of an 18-month multifaceted intervention designed to reduce the incidence of falls in community-living older adults in China. METHODS: A population-based community trial evaluated by before-and-after cross-sectional surveys. Four residential communities were randomised to either a multifaceted intervention or a control condition. Baseline information was collected from a sample of older adults in each community. A 1-year annual fall rate was calculated after an 18-month comprehensive intervention. RESULTS: After intervention, 7.19% of the intervention community sample reported falls, compared with 17.86% of the control community sample (p<0.000). The annual fall rate decreased by 10.52% in the intervention communities, whereas the difference in control communities was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Multifaceted interventions in community settings may be useful in preventing falls among older people, and can be applied in similar settings in China.