The Effectiveness of the Exercise Education Programme on Fall Prevention of the Community-dwelling Elderly: A Preliminary Study

ObjectiveThe purpose is to identify the effects of the exercise education programme on fall prevention of community-dwelling elderly.MethodsA single blind preliminary randomized control trial was conducted. Participants (N = 10) in the experimental group was assigned to an exercise education programme which consisted of 28 sessions, 30∼40 minutes per day for 4 weeks and a self-management telephone monitoring programme once every two days. Participants (N = 8) in the control group received no intervention. The effectiveness of exercise education programme was measured by fall index, balance confidence scale, and balance scale.ResultsThe fall risks decreased from moderate to minimum in the experimental group (p < .001). Balance confidence scores increased, especially 6 items measured statistically significant increases (p < .05). However, balance scores did not show statistically significant improvement.ConclusionThe exercise education programme might be effective for fall prevention of community-dwelling elderly.