The effect of a multicomponent intervention on occupational fall‐related factors in older workers: A pilot randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVES: Multicomponent interventions reduce falls among community‐dwelling older adults. However, whether this strategy helps reduce occupational falls among older workers is unclear. This pilot trial tested the safety, adherence, and potential effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention for older workers. METHODS: An assessor‐blind, parallel‐designed randomized controlled trial was conducted in five public employment agencies for seniors in Saitama, Japan. In total, 69 older adults who worked ≥4 days/month were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 35) or control (n = 34) groups. The intervention group was provided a multicomponent intervention consisting of exercise, nutrition, and psychosocial programs once a week for 8 weeks. Safety was evaluated for all adverse events reported by participants. Adherence was assessed by rates for withdrawal/dropout, exercise practice, and nutritional diary completion. The primary outcome was a change in functional strength related to occupational falls. Secondary outcomes included changes in agility, balance, executive function, visuospatial ability, exercise self‐efficiency, dietary variety, social network, and functional capacity. RESULTS: No adverse events were reported by participants. The median withdrawal/dropout, exercise practice, and nutritional diary completion rates were 0%, 80.4%–93.7%, and 100%, respectively. In the adjusted general linear model, the intervention group showed a non‐significant but clinically important improvement in functional strength (P value: .081, Cohen's d: 0.57) and significant improvements in agility, balance, and dietary variety compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS: A multicomponent intervention for older workers would be a safe, acceptable, and effective strategy for improving risk factors for occupational falls.