Department of Physical Therapy Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Document Type

Dissertation - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Physical Therapy

Copyright Statement

All rights reserved. This publication is intended for use solely by faculty, students, and staff of Nova Southeastern University. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, now known or later developed, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author or the publisher.

First Advisor

Shari Rone-Adams

Date of original Performance / Presentation

January 2024

Publication Date / Copyright Date

1-1-2024

Abstract

Background: In the United States, falls are the leading cause of adult fatal and non-fatal injuries. Fall death rates rise after the age of 65 with one-third experiencing a fall each year. Many community-dwelling elderly do not participate in fall prevention activities. There is a need to engage these individuals in fall prevention activities over the long term by removing barriers to participation. Design: Single-Blinded Randomized Control Design Participants: Community adults aged 65 and older (N=54) Methods: On the initial visit, participants completed FES-I, QOLS and were tested on fall risk outcome measures: TUG, 30-second chair stand, and 3-stage balance. Participants were randomized into an intervention group A or a control group B. Group A received a 7-minute daily home exercise program with 5 educational pamphlets. Group B received 5 educational pamphlets. Adherence to both groups was measured via an app. Three months post, participants completed the FES-I, QOLS, FIM and were re-tested on the TUG, 30-second chair stand and 3-stage balance test. Results: There were statistically significant decreases in fall risk and fear of falling in the intervention group. There were no statistically significant changes in the control: TUG (Mdiff = 1.90, SD = 1.19, p < .001) with a large effect size of 1.60; 30-second chair stand (Mdiff = -2.67, SD = 2.15, p < .001) with a large effect size of 1.24; 3-stage balance test (Mdiff = -2.28, SD = 4.34, p < .001) with a medium effect size of 0.53; FES-I (Mdiff = 3.33, SD = 4.55, p = .001) with a medium effect size of 0.73. There was a statistically significant inverse relationship between FES-I and 30-sec chair stand time in the treatment group (rs = -.570, p = .002) as well as in the control group (rs = -.512, p = .006). Conclusion: This home exercise program has been shown to effectively decrease fall risk in community-dwelling adults 65 and older while reducing their fear of falling. This program had an adherence rate of 89%. The program may have reduced the barriers that historically obstructed community-dwelling adults from participating in fall prevention activities.

Disciplines

Physical Therapy

Download
To access this thesis/dissertation you must have a valid nova.edu OR mynsu.nova.edu email address and create an account for NSUWorks.

Free My Thesis

If you are the author of this work and would like to grant permission to make it openly accessible to all, please click the Free My Thesis button.

  Contact Author

Share

 
COinS