Table 1.
Framework for coding used to develop interventions (nodes) for the network meta-analyses
| Intervention type | Variables used for full networksa | Possible number of nodes | Nodes used in at least one NMA (node number) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control groups | |||
| Usual care (UC) | None | 1 | UC (main comparator for all NMAs) (1) |
| Information (pamphlet on falls risk) | None | 1 | Information (2) |
| Attention control (social visits/engagement, gentle stretching, session(s) on healthy lifestyle, etc.) | None | 1 | Attention control (3) |
| Single-component interventions | |||
| Active education |
• Individual vs. group/mixed delivery • Intensity (1-2 sessions or ≤ 4 h vs. more intense) |
4 |
Ed + Indv + Low (9) Ed + Indv + High (10) Ed + Grp + Low (11) Ed + Grp + High (12) |
| Exercise—balance/resistance |
• Supervised (for > 2 sessions) vs. not (≤ 2 sessions) • Individual vs. group/mixed delivery • Virtual vs. offline (in-person) • Duration (≤ 3 [brief] vs. > 3 mos [long]) • Intensity of supervision (≤ 1 [low] vs. > 1 contact/week [high] (mean across total intervention duration, among long duration programs) |
22 |
Bal/Res + Sup + Ind + Offlineb + Brief (13) Bal/Res + SupH + Ind + Offline + Long (15) Bal/Res + SupL + Ind + Offline + Long (16) Bal/Res + SupH + Grp + Virt + Long (17) Bal/Res + Sup + Grp + Offline + Brief (18) Bal/Res + SupH + Grp + Offline + Long (19) Bal/Res + SupL + Grp + Offline + Long (20 Bal/Res + Uns + Ind + Offline + Brief (21) Bal/Res + Uns + Ind + Offline + Long (22) |
| Exercise—walking program (may include basic treadmill exercise) |
• Supervised (for > 2 sessions) vs. not (≤ 2 sessions) • Individual vs. group/mixed delivery • Virtual vs. offline (in-person) • Duration of intervention (≤ 3 vs. > 3 mos) |
16 |
Walk + Sup + Grp + Offline + Brief (23) Walk + Uns + Ind + Offline + Long (24) |
| Exercise—Tai Chi |
• Supervised (for > 2 sessions) vs. not (≤ 2 sessions) • Individual vs. group/mixed delivery • Virtual vs. offline (in-person) • Duration of intervention (≤ 3 vs. > 3 mos) |
16 |
Tai chi + Sup + Ind + Offline + Long (25) Tai chi + Sup + Grp + Offline + Brief (26) Tai chi + Sup + Grp + Offline + Long (27) |
| Exercise—other (e.g., square stepping, yoga, dance, aquatic) |
• Supervised (for > 2 sessions) vs. not (≤ 2 sessions) • Individual vs. group/mixed delivery • Virtual vs. offline (in-person) • Duration of intervention (≤ 3 vs. > 3 mos) |
16 |
Other + Sup + Ind + Offline + Brief (28) Other + Sup + Ind + Offline + Long (29) Other + Sup + Grp + Offline + Brief (30) Other + Sup + Grp + Offline + Long (31) Other + Uns + Ind + Offline + Long (32) |
| Medication review |
• All-comers/universal vs. restricted/targeted to those at high risk/polypharmacy • Comprehensive (multiple medications) vs. focused (1-2 medication classes) |
4 |
Med Review + All + Comp (36) Med Review + Targeted + Comp (37) |
| Vitamin D | • None: All doses and/or frequency/delivery routes were combined | 1 | Vit. D (8) |
| Home hazard assessment (HHA) |
• Comprehensive (≥3 assessment home features) vs. limited (1–2 features) • Modifications provided or self-purchased • Intensity/dose (1 [low] vs. ≥ 2 home visits [high]) |
8 |
HHA + Comp + Provider + High (33) HHA + Comp + Provider + Low (34) HHA + Comp + Self + Low (35) |
| EAT—mobility aid or device (EAT = environment/assistive technology) | • None | 1 | Mobility aid (4) |
| EAT—communication aids (alarm to prevent falls) | • None | 1 | None |
| EAT—vision assessment & treatment | • All-comers/universal vs. restricted to those with vision problems | 2 |
VAT—all-comers (5) VAT—targeted (6) |
| Psychological interventions (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)) | • Duration of intervention (≤ 3 vs. > 3 mos) | 2 |
CBT—long (38) CBT—brief (29) |
| Nutritional counselling | • None | 1 | None |
| Other | • E.g., sunlight intervention, chiropractic, whole-body vibration (WBV) | 1 per type | WBV (7) |
| Multicomponent (MC) interventions | |||
| MC with exercise |
• Walking vs. other exercise type • Supervised exercise (Y/N) • Complexity (only adding education [simple] vs. other(s)) • Requires ≥1 modifications (HHA or device) (Y/N) |
12 |
Walk + Sup + Education (40) Exercise + Sup + Complex + HHA (41) Exercise + Sup + Complex + No mod (42) Exercise + Sup + Education (43) Exercise + Uns + Education (44) Exercise + Uns + Complex + HHA (45) Exercise + Uns + Complex + No mod (46) |
| MC without exercise | • Potentially requires ≥1 modifications (HHA or device) (Y/N) | 2 |
HHA + Other (47) MC other (no HHA or exercise) (48) |
| Multifactorial (MF) interventions | |||
| Comprehensive (4 + assessment domains) |
• Major focus on exercise (Y/N) (coded as no if lack of information reported about duration, intensity, type, etc.) • Potentially requires ≥1 modifications (HHA or device) (Y/N) |
4 |
MF + Comp + Focus on exc + HHA (49) MF + Comp + Ltd exc + HHA (50) MF + Comp + Ltd exc + No mod (51) |
| Limited |
• Major focus on exercise (Y/N) • Potentially requires ≥1 modifications (HHA or device) (Y/N) |
4 |
MF + Ltd + Focus on exc + No mod (52) MF + Ltd + Ltd exc + HHA (53) |
| Mixed interventions (MF assessment + additional component delivered to everyone) | |||
| Mixed: MF comprehensive (≥4 intervention components) + other |
• Adding education only • Adding exercise only • Adding HHA or device only • Adding exercise + HHA/device • Other |
5 |
Mixed + MF Comp + Educ (54) Mixed + MF Comp + Exc (55) Mixed + MF Comp + HHA (56) Mixed + MF Comp + Exc + HHA (57) Mixed + MF Comp + Other (58) |
| Mixed: MF limited + other |
• Adding education only • Adding exercise only • Adding HHA or device only • Adding exercise + HHA/device • Other |
5 |
Mixed + MF Ltd + HHA (59) Mixed + MF Ltd + Exc + HHA (60) |
Abbreviations: CBT cognitive behavioral therapy, Comp comprehensive, HHA Home Hazard Assessment, Ltd limited, MC multicomponent, MF multifactorial, mos months, UC usual care, VAT visual assessment and treatment, WBV whole-body vibration
aFor the simplified meta-regressions, we used one node per intervention type (left column) with the following exceptions: (i) we used supervised vs. not for balance/resistance exercise interventions, (ii) we combined all multifactorial interventions into one node, and (iii) we combined all mixed interventions into one node
bOffline, in-person