Table 3.
Relationship of FES Change Score With Whether Individual Falls QIs Were Passed or Failed
| FES Change Score | FES Change Score (“Common Pathyway” criteria for QIs 4 and 5)† | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QI# | Falls Quality Indicator | Passed QI | Failed QI | Passed QI | Failed QI |
| 1 | If a person age 75 or older reports a fall, then a falls history should be performed. | 1.8 N=62 | 1.6 N=82 | 1.8 N=62 | 1.6 N=82 |
| 2 | If a person age 75 or older reports a fall, then a falls physical exam** should be performed. | 3.3* N=56 | .6* N=88 | 3.3* N=56 | .6* N=88 |
| 3 | If a person age 75 or older reports fear of falling or a gait, mobility, or balance problem then he/she should have a gait, mobility and balance exam. | .7 N=68 | .3 N=153 | .7 N=68 | .3 N=153 |
| 4 | If a person age 75 or older is found to have impaired balance, proprioception, or increased postural sway, then an intervention (exercise/physical therapy, assistive device) should be recommended. | 4.1 N=7 | 3.1 N=30 | 3.9* N=30 | .7* N=269 |
| 5 | If a person age 75 or older is found to have impaired gait, decreased strength or endurance, then an exercise program should be recommended. | 4.3 N=26 | 1.7 N=7 | ||
The FES ranges from 10–40 points. The FES change scores in this analysis, for ease of interpretation, have been presented so that a higher FES Change Score indicates more improvement in FES.
p<.05, two-tailed t-test on change scores between patients who failed versus passed QI.
QI = Quality Indicator
N= number of quality indicators triggered
FES = Falls Efficacy Scale
The common pathway scoring method combines QIs #4 and #5 into a common QI (resulting in 12 fewer eligible cases) and makes patients without documented falls examinations eligible for the new combined treatment QI (resulting in 241 additional eligible cases).
For QI 2, the falls physical exam required at least 3 of the following 5 components: gait, balance, orthostatic blood pressure measurement, vision (any element or vision specialist referral), and neurologic exam (any element or neurologist referral).
Falls QIs could be triggered more than once, so the number of participants was slightly lower than number of QIs triggered. The number of participants who passed versus failed were: for QI #1, 60 versus 81; for QI #2, 54 versus 87; for QI #3: 66 versus 152; for QI #4, 7 versus 29; for QI #5, 25 versus 7; and for the common pathway QI, 29 versus 247.