NCT01609322

Exposure Therapy for Fear of Falling in Older Adults

• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 2
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 40 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of California, San Diego · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This project aims to test the efficacy of an in-home intervention, "Activity, Balance, Learning, and Exposure" (ABLE), which integrates exposure therapy with cognitive restructuring, exercise, and home safety evaluation for older adults with excessive fear of falling. The intervention will be conducted by a licensed physical therapist. A control intervention will be conducted by a health educator. The specific aims of the study are to test the feasibility, acceptability, tolerability, and safety of the ABLE intervention.

Detailed description

Approximately 7-14% of older adults living independently in the community, including more than 5% of those who have never experienced a fall, experience moderate to severe fear of falling. Fear of falling leads to decreased physical activity, disability, loss of independence, depression, anxiety, reduced social engagement, and poor quality of life. It is also a major independent risk factor for falls. Interventions targeting fear of falling, typically delivered in groups and incorporating cognitive restructuring, education, and exercise, have been shown to increase fall-related self-efficacy. Avoidance is resistant to treatment, however, and more than one-third of patients enrolled in these interventions drop out. Factors associated with attrition include high levels of fear and avoidance, indicating that the individuals most in need of such programs are those most likely to withdraw prematurely. These data suggest that avoidance should be targeted in treatment, and that interventions should be designed to reach very fearful individuals who are most likely to drop out of traditional fear of falling programs. Participation in this study will last up to 8 months. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either the ABLE intervention or an education control condition. The control condition will consist of in-person education about falls to control for the time and attention provided in the ABLE arm.

Conditions

• Fear of Falling

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Activity, Balance, Learning, and Exposure	An in-home intervention that integrates exposure therapy with cognitive restructuring, exercise, and a home safety evaluation.
BEHAVIORAL	Fall prevention education	In-home, individual sessions with a health educator regarding fall prevention

Timeline

• Start date: 2010-08-01
• Primary completion: 2013-08-01
• Completion: 2013-08-01
• First posted: 2012-05-31
• Last updated: 2013-12-23

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States