Falls efficacy among older adults enrolled in an evidence-based program to reduce fall-related risk: Sustainability of individual benefits over time

Grand-scale community rollouts of evidence-based programs seldom have the capacity to examine long-term sustainability of beneficial effects among older adults. This study examined the effectiveness of A Matter of Balance/Volunteer Lay Leader Model, an evidence-based fall risk reduction program, to sustain fall-related efficacy improvements among 282 older adult participants using data collected at 3 time points: baseline, postintervention, and 6-month follow-up. A linear mixed model and multilevel logistic regression models were used. Falls Efficacy Scale and individual item scores significantly increased from baseline to postintervention. While most efficacy-related scores tapered after postintervention, all changes remained significant at 6-month follow-up.