Table 1 List of measures to be collected at baseline assessment (BA) and at reassessment (RA)
BA | RA | O | |
|---|---|---|---|
Socio-demographics | |||
Age, gender, education, occupation, place and type of residence and number of co-habitants. | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
General health and function | |||
Detailed information regarding non-transported fall. | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
Information regarding falls and fractures in previous 12 months. | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
Ambulance service use and hospitalisation in last 12 months (in general, and due to falls). | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
Disease history of previous 12 months (Multipurpose Australian Co-morbidity Scoring Scale (MACSS)). | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
Medication use. | ✓ | ✓ | S |
Assistive walking device (indoor and outdoor use), need for assistance when performing seven Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL). | ✓ | ✓ | S |
The Incidental and Planned Exercise Questionnaire (IPEQ) will provide estimates of the frequency and duration of planned and incidental exercise [21]. | ✓ | ✓ | S |
Self-reported fear of falling and balance ability on a 5-point Likert-scale. | ✓ | ✓ | S |
Quality of life | |||
The EuroQol-5D is a widely used utility-based quality of life instrument for estimating Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) for economic evaluations [22]. It provides a simple descriptive profile and a single index value for health related quality of life. | ✓ | ✓ | S |
Neuropsychological | |||
Fear of falling will be assessed using the Iconographical Falls Efficacy Scale-Short version (ICON FES) [23]. | ✓ | ✓ | S |
The 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) will assess symptoms of depression [24, 25]. | ✓ | ✓ | S |
General Practitioner assessment of COGnition (GPCOG) will provide a global measure of cognition [26] The GPCOG is a reliable, valid and efficient tool to quickly screen for dementia, which has been shown not to be influenced by the cultural or linguistic background of the person being assessed. | ✓ | ✓ | S |
Executive Function (working memory, set shifting and response inhibition) will be assessed using the Trail-Making Test A and B (TMT A/B ) [27, 28]. | ✓ | ✓ | S |
Physical | |||
Objective measure of falls risk using the QuickScreen [29]. This is a multifactorial, reliable and externally validated falls risk assessment tool. It is able to predict future fall risk with an accuracy of 72%. | ✓ | ✓ | S |
Timed up and Go [30] and the co-ordinated stability test [31]. | ✓ | ✓ | S |
Home environment | |||
The HOME FAST assessment score is a valid predictor of falls, with an increased risk of 1-2% for every additional point scored on the scale [32]. | ✓ | ✓ | S |
Follow-up- 12 months | |||
Falls (monthly diaries) [33]. | P | ||
Subsequent use of health services (differentiation between fall-related or other medical reason) collected from monthly diary and with further telephone call for clarification if required. | S | ||
GP visit, Specialist medical practitioners visit, ambulance service use, ED presentation, hospital admission, physiotherapy, occupational therapy. | |||
Number of falls requiring ED attendance and/or hospitalisation collected from monthly diary and with further telephone call for clarification if required. | S | ||
Use of NSW Ambulance Service, including time on scene (routinely collected Ambulance Service data). | S | ||
Any ED presentation or hospitalisation including Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) and Length of Stay (LOS) data (measured using falls calendar data and corroborated through the NSW Admitted Patient Data Collection). | S | ||
Use of any community health services – GP visits, Home medication review (HMR), Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) referrals, use of Post Acute Care Service (PACS) services etc. (measured using monthly falls calendar data). | S | ||
Uptake and adherence to recommendations (based on initial and post-intervention assessments). | ✗ | ✓ | S |