Brouwer 2003.
| Methods | Type of study: RCT. | |
| Participants | Number of participants randomised: 38 Losses: 4 of 38 (2 in exercise and 2 in control (education)) N = 38 Age: mean (SD) 77.1 (5.1) ‐ exercise group, 78.0 (5.5) ‐ control group (education). Sex: 5 men, 12 women ‐ exercise group, 4 men, 13 women ‐ control group. Health status defined by authors: healthy (no history of falls) Residential status of participants: independent community living Setting: Canada. Inclusion: fear of falling. Exclusion: co‐morbidities (neuropathy, vestibular deficits, mobility arthritis, neurological conditions). |
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| Interventions | EXERCISE GROUP (MULTIPLE): (n = 17) low resistance exercises against gravity, theraband for legs and trunk, reaching, weight shifting, marching on spot, and home exercise programme. EXERCISE GROUP (Education): (n = 17) discussion about concerns relating to falling, education about environment. Duration and intensity: 1 hour per week x 8 weeks both groups. Exercise group additional 40 minutes x 2 week unsupervised home exercise programme. Supervisor: physiotherapist. Supervision: group. Setting: gym. | |
| Outcomes | Force platform: LOS AP and ML (cm).
Walking speed (middle 10 of 20 metres) (m/s) Compliance/Adherence: not reported Adverse events: Not reported. |
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| Notes | ||
| Risk of bias | ||
| Bias | Authors' judgement | Support for judgement |
| Random sequence generation (selection bias) | Unclear risk | Insufficient information to permit judgement |
| Allocation concealment (selection bias) | High risk | Paper states 'blinded to group allocation' but method unclear. Same physiotherapist delivered both interventions |
| Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes | Low risk | Balanced across groups 4 lost to follow‐up: 2 ill, 2 unavailable for retesting |
| Selective reporting (reporting bias) | Low risk | Protocol described in detail |
| Other bias | Low risk | The study appears to be free of other sources of bias |
| Blinding (participant) | High risk | Not possible |
| Blinding (assessor) | Unclear risk | Blinding not known |
| Were the treatment and control group comparable at entry? | Low risk | No differences reported on baseline characteristics with a potential to influence the effect of the intervention |
| Was the surveillance active, and of clinically appropriate duration (i.e. at least 3 months post intervention)? | High risk | Baseline, post intervention, plus follow‐up only at 6 weeks |