Branko F. Olij

We aimed to describe and evaluate the implementation of a home-based exercise program among community-dwelling adults aged ≥65 years. In an observational study, the twelve-week program was implemented in a community setting. The implementation plan consisted of dialogues with healthcare professionals and older adults, development of an implementation protocol, recruitment of participants, program implementation, and implementation evaluation. The dialogues consisted of a Delphi survey among healthcare professionals, and of individual and group meetings among older adults. The implementation of the program was evaluated using the framework model RE-AIM. In the dialogues with healthcare professionals and older adults, it was found that negative consequences of a fall and positive effects of preventing a fall should be emphasized to older adults, in order to get them engaged in fall prevention activities. A total of 450 older adults enrolled in the study, of which 238 started the program. The process evaluation showed that the majority of older adults were recruited by a community nurse. Also, a good collaboration between the research team and the local primary healthcare providers was accomplished, which was important in the recruitment. Future fall prevention studies may use this information in order to translate an intervention in a research project into a community-based program.

This observational study was conducted to determine which factors are associated with frequent participation in a home-based exercise program. The effects of frequent participation on health-related outcomes over time are investigated, as well. Community-dwelling adults aged ≥65 years participated in a twelve-week home-based exercise program. The program consisted of an instruction book with exercises that were performed individually at home. Frequent participation was classified as performing exercises of the instruction book daily or a few days a week during the study period. A logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the association between factors (i.e., demographic and health-related characteristics) and frequent participation. Furthermore, to investigate the effects of frequent participation on health-related outcomes, generalized linear and logistic regression models were built. A total of 238 participants (mean age 81.1 years (SD ± 6.7), 71% female) were included in the study. Frequent participation during the study period was indicated by fifty-two percent of participants. Analyses showed that a higher degree of pain (OR: 1.02, 95% CI: 1.–1.04) was associated with frequent participation. In addition, the effect of frequent participation over time was a significant improvement in current health perceptions (B: 4.46, SE: 1.99).

Objectives: To provide a comprehensive overview of economic evaluations of falls prevention programs and to evaluate the methodology and quality of these studies. Design: Systematic review of economic evaluations on falls prevention programs. Setting: Studies (N=31) of community‐dwelling older adults (n=25), of older adults living in residential care facilities (n=3), and of both populations (n=3) published before May 2017. Participants: Adults aged 60 and older. Measurements: Information on study characteristics and health economics was collected. Study quality was appraised using the 20‐item Consensus on Health Economic Criteria. Results: Economic evaluations of falls prevention through exercise ( n = 9), home assessment ( n = 6), medication adjustment ( n = 4), multifactorial programs ( n = 11), and various other programs ( n = 13) were identified. Approximately two‐thirds of all reported incremental cost‐effectiveness ratios (ICERs) with quality‐adjusted life‐years (QALYs) as outcome were below the willingness‐to‐pay threshold of $50,000 per QALY. All studies on home assessment and medication adjustment programs reported favorable ICERs, whereas the results of studies on exercise and multifactorial programs were inconsistent. The overall methodological quality of the studies was good, although there was variation between studies. Conclusion: The majority of the reported ICERs indicated that falls prevention programs were cost‐effective, but methodological differences between studies hampered direct comparison of the cost‐effectiveness of program types. The results imply that investing in falls prevention programs for adults aged 60 and older is cost‐effective. Home assessment programs (ICERs < $40,000/QALY) were the most cost‐effective type of program for community‐dwelling older adults, and medication adjustment programs (ICERs < $13,000/QALY) were the most cost‐effective type of program for older adults living in a residential care facility. J Am Geriatr Soc 66:2197–2204, 2018.

In order to gain insight into the health impact of violence related injury, the psychological consequences should be taken into account. There has been uncertainty regarding the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), acute stress disorder (ASD), and depression among patients with violence related injury. An overview of prevalence rates may inform our understanding of both prognosis and recovery for these patients. Therefore, we aim to provide an overview of the published literature reporting the prevalence rates and trajectories of PTSD, ASD, and depression following violence related injury, and to assess the quality of the studies included. A systematic review was conducted in order to provide an overview of the published literature reporting the prevalence of PTSD, ASD and depression following violence related injury treated at the emergency department or hospital. The EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane Central, PubMed, and PsycINFO databases were searched systematically. The quality of the included studies was assessed. We included sixteen studies reporting the prevalence rates of PTSD, ASD, or depression. Clear prevalence trajectories could not be identified because the range of prevalence rates was diverse at each time point. Heterogeneity resulting from the use of different diagnostic instruments limited comparability. The included studies were susceptible to bias due to low response rates and loss to follow-up. The differences in diagnostic instruments limited comparability of the prevalence rates. Therefore, clear prevalence trajectories could not be identified. Study participation and loss to follow-up require more attention in future studies. Uniformity in diagnostic procedures is needed in order to draw general conclusions on the prevalence of PTSD, ASD, and depression following violence related injury.