From: Near-falls in Singapore community-dwelling older adults: a feasibility study
Inclusion criteria | Exclusion criteria |
---|---|
65-year-old and above | Requiring any physical assistance from another person to walk within home |
Ability to read, write and communicate in English | Known active malignant conditions |
History of at least one near-fall or one fall within the last 12 months | Cardiovascular conditions, e.g. neurally mediated syncope, cardiac syncope, structural heart diseases, e.g. aortic stenosis or hospitalization for myocardial infarction or heart surgery within 3 months |
Living independently in the community with or without the use of a walking aid | Pulmonary conditions, e.g. chronic severe obstructive pulmonary disease or oxygen dependence |
Not having any cognitive dysfunction by achieving a score of 7 or less in the 6-item cognitive impairment test (6CIT) [27] | Musculoskeletal conditions, e.g. moderate to severe osteoarthritis that could affect balance control and muscle function, e.g. self-reported pain or dysfunction of the trunk and extremities, fractures or injuries in the extremities in the last 6 months. |
Able to walk 6 m within 12 s by performing the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test [28] | Neurological conditions, e.g. Parkinson’s disease, sequelae of stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis or severe dementia or epilepsy |
Able to catch a 30-cm ruler with each hand using the Hand Reaction Time (HRT) test [29] | Legal blindness, severe visual impairment, severe hearing impairment or legal deafness |