Effects of Enriched Physical Activity Environments on Balance and Fall Prevention in Older Adults: A Scoping Review

Abstract

The incidence of falling, due to aging, is related to both personal and environmental factors. There is a clear need to understand the nature of the major risk factors and design features of a safe and navigable living environment for potential fallers. The aim of this scoping review was to identify studies that have examined the effectiveness of environments, which promote physical activity and have an impact on falls prevention. Selected studies were identified and categorized into four main topics: built environment, environment modifications, enriched environments, and task constraints. The results of this analysis showed that there are a limited number of studies aiming to enhance dynamic postural stability and fall prevention through designing more functional environments. This scoping review study suggests that the design of interventions and the evaluation of an environment to support fall prevention are topics for future research.

Effect of home-based exercise on falls in community-dwelling older adults: an umbrella review

“…However, our findings showed that even in moderate frail older adults or older adults with falls, the home-based fall prevention programmes were effective in reducing the fall rate [19,38] and improved physical function [35,36,38]. The results of other review studies also showed that community-based multifunctional interventions reduced the fall rate by 32% [48] and improved balance [47] in older adults with dementia.…”

“…To maximise the benefits of home-based interventions, it is necessary to adopt a balanced approach through occasional visits by health carers to monitor progress, online and face-to-face feedback provision to build up self-efficacy and correction of errors and remote support throughout the intervention period to enhance adherence [43,46]. Another limitation of home-based interventions is the level of frailty and cognitive function of participants; the level of frailty and muscle weakness might limit the feasibility of home-based interventions as more supervision is required [47]. However, our findings showed that even in moderate frail older adults or older adults with falls, the home-based fall prevention programmes were effective in reducing the fall rate [19,38] and improved physical function [35,36,38].…”

Recurrent Neural Network Methods for Extracting Dynamic Balance Variables during Gait from a Single Inertial Measurement Unit

“…The experience of falls can also cause fear of falling, social isolation, and decreased physical activity, resulting in a decline in overall health and well-being [14][15][16]. Monitoring dynamic balance during activities is critical for fall prevention in the elderly [17,18].…”