Home hazard modification programs for reducing falls in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

This study aims to assess the effect of home modification in preventing falls in older adults.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized studies were performed. The review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and was registered prospectively. Five electronic databases were systematically searched for related articles. The titles and abstracts of the articles found using the key search phrases-home modification and falling-were screened using inclusion and exclusion criteria. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to evaluate the studies' methodology.

A total of 12 trials were included. A meta-analysis was conducted using 10 studies with n = 1, 960 participants showing a clinically meaningful 7% reduction in falls (risk ratio = 0.93; 0.87-1).

Falls can be significantly reduced with the use of home modification interventions that are thorough, well-focused, have an environmental-fit perspective, and have adequate follow-up.