Skip to content Skip to navigation
University of Warwick
  • Study
  • |
  • Research
  • |
  • Business
  • |
  • Alumni
  • |
  • News
  • |
  • About

University of Warwick
Publications service & WRAP

Highlight your research

  • WRAP
    • Home
    • Search WRAP
    • Browse by Warwick Author
    • Browse WRAP by Year
    • Browse WRAP by Subject
    • Browse WRAP by Department
    • Browse WRAP by Funder
    • Browse Theses by Department
  • Publications Service
    • Home
    • Search Publications Service
    • Browse by Warwick Author
    • Browse Publications service by Year
    • Browse Publications service by Subject
    • Browse Publications service by Department
    • Browse Publications service by Funder
  • Help & Advice
University of Warwick

The Library

  • Login
  • Admin

Life After Falls prevention therapy involving ExeRcise (LAFTER)

Tools
- Tools
+ Tools

Finnegan, Susanne (2019) Life After Falls prevention therapy involving ExeRcise (LAFTER). PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

[img]
Preview
PDF
WRAP_Theses_Finnegan_2019.pdf - Submitted Version - Requires a PDF viewer.

Download (23Mb) | Preview
Official URL: http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b3466485~S15

Request Changes to record.

Abstract

Background: Exercise programmes addressing problems of gait, balance and lower limb strength, are effective in reducing rate and risk of falls in community-dwelling older people. There is a lack of evidence regarding the long-term effects of falls prevention exercises.

Aim: To investigate whether a falls prevention exercise intervention had any long-term effects on health-related outcomes compared to advice only, in older adults who have participated in a falls prevention clinical trial. Methods: This study used mixed methods. A cohort study followed-up a subset of 4891/9803 (50%) older people recruited to a larger RCT; The Prevention of Fall Injury Trial (PreFIT). Data on falls, health-related quality of life, frailty, cognition and general health were collected from participants allocated to advice only and advice plus exercise, up to six-years after randomisation. Interviews were undertaken with 23 participants randomised to the exercise intervention to explore their experiences of the trial.

Results: 2980/4891 (61%) participants responded to a postal survey (advice: n=1507; exercise: n=1473). At six years, there were no long-term effects of exercise on falls or other health outcomes. There were no differences by treatment arm or by adherence to exercise. Overall health of the whole cohort gradually declined over time, in multiple domains. Analysis of interviews identified five themes: happy to help; exercise behaviours; “It keeps me going”; “It wasn’t a real fall”; and loss. Participants were no longer undertaking the strength and balance exercises prescribed during their intervention. They preferred walking as their main form of exercise, and no-one reported preventing falls as a motivator to continuing to exercise.

Conclusions: There were no long-term effects of falls prevention exercises in this cohort of older people. This may be because older people stop their specific strength and balance exercises when their supervised intervention comes to an end.

Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
Subjects: R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Falls (Accidents) -- Prevention, Falls (Accidents) in old age, Exercise therapy, Clinical trials
Official Date: November 2019
Dates:
DateEvent
November 2019Accepted
Institution: University of Warwick
Theses Department: Warwick Medical School
Thesis Type: PhD
Publication Status: Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor: Bruce, Julie ; Seers, Kate
Sponsors: Dunhill Medical Trust
Format of File: pdf
Extent: 308 leaves : illustrations, charts
Language: eng
Date of first compliant deposit: 17 August 2020

Request changes or add full text files to a record

Repository staff actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics

twitter

Email us: wrap@warwick.ac.uk
Contact Details
About Us