TY - JOUR
T1 - Older women in a state-wide, evidence-based falls prevention program
T2 - Who enrolls and what benefits are obtained?
AU - Smith, Matthew Lee
AU - Ory, Marcia G.
AU - Larsen, Ross
N1 - Funding Information:
A Matter of Balance/Voluntary Lay Leader (AMOB/VLL) is a major program activity in the Aging Texas Well’s Texas Healthy Lifestyles Initiative. State-wide implementation is supported by the Department of Aging and Disability Services and administered through the Texas Association of Area Agencies on Aging. The evaluation is conducted by the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health. We recognize faculty support from The Center for Community Health Development which is a member of the Prevention Research Centers Program, supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cooperative agreement number 5U48 DP000045 . The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of Department of Aging and Disability Services or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The authors acknowledge the contributions of Chelsea Mounce and Harlan Johnson in the data management processes leading up to the generation of this manuscript.
PY - 2010/11
Y1 - 2010/11
N2 - Background: Older women who are vulnerable to falls and their negative consequences have been shown, in controlled randomized clinical trials, to benefit from fall prevention programs. The purpose of this study was to identify personal characteristics of female participants enrolled in a falls prevention program, the effectiveness of the program for female participants, and whether personal characteristics indicate which women might benefit most from programs delivered in real-world settings. Methods: Data were collected from seniors enrolled in A Matter of Balance/Voluntary Lay Leader (AMOB/VLL) program sessions conducted in Texas over the 2-year period from 2007 to 2009. Baseline and postintervention data from 1,101 female participants were drawn from a larger, state-wide dataset and analyzed using structural equation modeling to identify relationships between variables of interest. Findings: Analyses revealed that women who attended AMOB/VLL significantly increased falls efficacy from baseline to postintervention (t = 1.680; p < .05; d = 0.143) and reduced the number of times fallen (t = 3.790; p < .01; d = 0.313). Further, participants reported decreases in days of physical (t = 3.810; p < .01; d = 0.323) and mental health (t = 1.850; p < .05; d = 0.156) reported as not good. Conclusion: Findings from this study support the effectiveness of evidence-based programs for reducing falls-related risks in older women. Identifying the characteristics of female participants enrolled in AMOB/VLL can enable public health professionals to better target and meet the health demands of the aging female population. Such translational research can help to guide the dissemination of additional state-wide health promotion programs for older women.
AB - Background: Older women who are vulnerable to falls and their negative consequences have been shown, in controlled randomized clinical trials, to benefit from fall prevention programs. The purpose of this study was to identify personal characteristics of female participants enrolled in a falls prevention program, the effectiveness of the program for female participants, and whether personal characteristics indicate which women might benefit most from programs delivered in real-world settings. Methods: Data were collected from seniors enrolled in A Matter of Balance/Voluntary Lay Leader (AMOB/VLL) program sessions conducted in Texas over the 2-year period from 2007 to 2009. Baseline and postintervention data from 1,101 female participants were drawn from a larger, state-wide dataset and analyzed using structural equation modeling to identify relationships between variables of interest. Findings: Analyses revealed that women who attended AMOB/VLL significantly increased falls efficacy from baseline to postintervention (t = 1.680; p < .05; d = 0.143) and reduced the number of times fallen (t = 3.790; p < .01; d = 0.313). Further, participants reported decreases in days of physical (t = 3.810; p < .01; d = 0.323) and mental health (t = 1.850; p < .05; d = 0.156) reported as not good. Conclusion: Findings from this study support the effectiveness of evidence-based programs for reducing falls-related risks in older women. Identifying the characteristics of female participants enrolled in AMOB/VLL can enable public health professionals to better target and meet the health demands of the aging female population. Such translational research can help to guide the dissemination of additional state-wide health promotion programs for older women.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.whi.2010.07.003
DO - 10.1016/j.whi.2010.07.003
M3 - Article
C2 - 21051002
AN - SCOPUS:78049504498
SN - 1049-3867
VL - 20
SP - 427
EP - 434
JO - Women's Health Issues
JF - Women's Health Issues
IS - 6
ER -