Authors (including presenting author) :
Lee CH(1), Chan YL(1)(2), Ng TY(1)(2), Miu KY(1)(2)
Affiliation :
Occupational Therapy Department, TWGHs Wong Tai Sin Hospital
Introduction :
Fall is common in stroke patients accompanied with increased fear of fall and fall risks. Existing fall prevention education may not precisely target post-stroke fall. This study compare the effectiveness of a fall prevention education program in reducing fear of fall and fall risks to conventional Occupational Therapy stroke training.
Objectives :
The aim of this trial is to investigate the effect of the fall prevention education program for reduction of fear of fall and fall risks in subacute stroke patients in comparison with conventional stroke rehabilitation program. Accordingly, we hypothesized that at least the fall prevention education program is equally effective as the conventional stroke rehabilitation training in reducing fear of fall and fall risks for subacute stroke patient.
Methodology :
This pilot randomized control study recruited 13 sub-acute stroke patients and randomly allocated them to treatment or control group. Treatment group receive a fall prevention education program including group education and individualized review. In contrast, control group received conventional occupational therapy stroke training and a fall prevention leaflet. Assessments were conducted before and after the interventions. Primary outcome included Iconographical Falls Efficacy Scale (Icon-FES), Activity Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale and Stroke Assessment of Fall Risk (SAFR). Secondary outcomes were Modified Barthel Index(MBI) and Berg Balance Scale (BBS).
Result & Outcome :
Outcomes comparison showed no significant differences between treatment and control groups in pre and post-intervention for all outcome measures. However, participants’ SAFR scores decreased significantly in the treatment group (p=0.017, Effect size=0.66). There was a significant improvement in MBI scores in both groups (Control group: p=0.043, Effect size=56; Treatment group: p=0.01, Effect size=0.70) and treatment group participants’ BBS scores also increased significantly (p=0.018, Effect size=0.66). The results suggest that at least the fall prevention education program may be equally effective as the conventional Occupational Therapy stroke training for fear of fall and fall risks reduction.
