[A review of intervention studies for prevention of falls in older people]

Falls are a well-known cause of hip fracture leading to hospitalization and bedridden status among older people. Intervention programs for prevention of falls in the elderly may therefor have considerable benefits in reducing disability and health care costs. The available literature on intervention programs to prevent falls by older people was here reviewed, using the Medline and Japana Centra Revuo Medicina databases for 1990 to 2000. The strategy used for the search was "falls of accident falls, intervention or intervention study, and cost or cost-effectiveness". Various types of interventions targeting both community dwelling and institutionalized elderly have been reported from western countries: home modification, exercise programs, and medical and behavioral interventions individualized according to the person's risk factors. Many internal and external risk factors of falls have been identified, and it has been proven that interventions to reduce these risk factors lower the incidence of falls and are cost-effective. Programs and services for the prevention of falls have been carried out in different regions of Japan, but few reports evaluated their effectiveness. Further implementation of falls prevention program should be accompanied by promotion of research in the efficacy area in Japan.