Paper
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM
This presentation is part of : Posters
A Meta-Analysis of an Exercise Program as a Fall Prevention Among the Elderly
Kyeong-Yae Sohng, PhD, RN1, Jung Soon Moon, DPH, RN1, and Jung Hyun Choi, PhD, RN2. (1) College of Nursing, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, South Korea, (2) Department of Social Welfare, Cheonan University, South Korea
Objective: To examine the effectiveness of exercise as a means of prevention of fall, in addition to a strengthened balance and muscle strength among the elderly. Design: Meta-analysis. Method: Computerized literature search using MEDLINE and CINAHL were conducted using the index terms fall(s), exercise, prevention, aged and elderly, and also cross-referencing retrieved review and original articles. Findings: Eight studies were reviewed in depth for study design, intervention protocols, subject characteristics, and the outcome measures of fall, balance and muscle strength. Data from eight studies, involving a total of 843 subjects, 443 subjects in the intervention group and 400 subjects in the control group, have been compared and combined. The exercise effect on fall reduction is estimated 6.2%, a marginally significant result, and the balance and muscle strength were significaltly improved, especially so for the knee muscle strength.Conclusions and Implications: The present study has revealed areas of weakness in previous researches that might profitably be explored in future studies in this area.

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Sigma Theta Tau International
July 21, 2004