Systematic review of accuracy of screening instruments for predicting fall risk among independently living older adults.

The objective of this study was to summarize the evidence on the accuracy of screening tools for predicting falling risk in community-living older adults. This study was designed as a systematic review. Prospective studies of clinical fall risk prediction tools that provided data on the number of pa...

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Main Authors: Gates, S, Smith, L, Fisher, J, Lamb, S
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: 2008
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author Gates, S
Smith, L
Fisher, J
Lamb, S
author_facet Gates, S
Smith, L
Fisher, J
Lamb, S
author_sort Gates, S
collection OXFORD
description The objective of this study was to summarize the evidence on the accuracy of screening tools for predicting falling risk in community-living older adults. This study was designed as a systematic review. Prospective studies of clinical fall risk prediction tools that provided data on the number of participants who sustained falls during follow-up were included. We searched six electronic databases and reference lists of studies and review articles. Data were extracted by two reviewers independently, and methodological quality assessment was performed with a modified version of the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies checklist. Twenty-five studies were included. These studies evaluated 29 different screening tools, but only 6 of the tools were evaluated by more than one study. Methodological quality was variable, and many studies were small. No meta-analyses were performed because of heterogeneity. Most tools discriminated poorly between fallers and nonfallers. We found that existing studies are methodologically variable and the results are inconsistent. Insufficient evidence exists that any screening instrument is adequate for predicting falls.
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spelling oxford-uuid:c549c548-78a4-4018-beb0-0881e187f2912022-03-27T06:29:40ZSystematic review of accuracy of screening instruments for predicting fall risk among independently living older adults.Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:c549c548-78a4-4018-beb0-0881e187f291EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2008Gates, SSmith, LFisher, JLamb, SThe objective of this study was to summarize the evidence on the accuracy of screening tools for predicting falling risk in community-living older adults. This study was designed as a systematic review. Prospective studies of clinical fall risk prediction tools that provided data on the number of participants who sustained falls during follow-up were included. We searched six electronic databases and reference lists of studies and review articles. Data were extracted by two reviewers independently, and methodological quality assessment was performed with a modified version of the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies checklist. Twenty-five studies were included. These studies evaluated 29 different screening tools, but only 6 of the tools were evaluated by more than one study. Methodological quality was variable, and many studies were small. No meta-analyses were performed because of heterogeneity. Most tools discriminated poorly between fallers and nonfallers. We found that existing studies are methodologically variable and the results are inconsistent. Insufficient evidence exists that any screening instrument is adequate for predicting falls.
spellingShingle Gates, S
Smith, L
Fisher, J
Lamb, S
Systematic review of accuracy of screening instruments for predicting fall risk among independently living older adults.
title Systematic review of accuracy of screening instruments for predicting fall risk among independently living older adults.
title_full Systematic review of accuracy of screening instruments for predicting fall risk among independently living older adults.
title_fullStr Systematic review of accuracy of screening instruments for predicting fall risk among independently living older adults.
title_full_unstemmed Systematic review of accuracy of screening instruments for predicting fall risk among independently living older adults.
title_short Systematic review of accuracy of screening instruments for predicting fall risk among independently living older adults.
title_sort systematic review of accuracy of screening instruments for predicting fall risk among independently living older adults
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