Developing the evidence for falls-prevention interventions in people with ID living in community settings

People with intellectual disability (ID) experience a falls risk that is similar to the population over age 65, but at much younger ages.

Limited evidence-based falls-prevention programs exist. Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School examined a clinical falls prevention-intervention targeted towards adults with ID living in community settings. The intervention was developed by a Massachusetts based rehabilitation agency using evidence-based approaches in the geriatric population. The intervention included an assessment of individual fall risk status at baseline, 3 months and 6 months, targeted clinical interventions such as balance and strength training, and daily monitoring of falls by residential staff. The pilot study consisted of 23 males and 36 females with ID living in community group homes.

Researchers will complete the analysis phase in May. Outcomes data is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the clinical intervention and assess the feasibility of using similar methods to study the effectiveness of falls-prevention interventions. Researchers will conduct an item-level analysis of components on the Fall Risk Screening Tool used to assess individual fall risk, describe differences in baseline risk factors by age groups and gender, and assess the efficacy of the intervention by both changes in the rate of falls and injurious falls over time and in falls risk factors from baseline.