| Donald 2000 |
RCT; 2 x 2 design (2 x flooring, 2 x therapy). |
DESCRIPTION: 54 in‐patients in an elderly care rehabilitation ward, in England.
NUMBERS: Linoleum floor = 26, Carpeted floor = 28.
AGE, mean: Linoleum floor = 82.75, Carpeted floor = 83.20
GENDER (male/female): Linoleum floor = 8/18, Carpeted floor = 2/26.
ETHNICITY: not described.
INCLUSION CRITERIA: All patients admitted for rehabilitation.
EXCLUSION CRITERIA: none described. |
LINOLEUM FLOOR: Patient admitted to one of two four‐bed bays with latex vinyl square tile flooring.
CARPETED FLOOR: Patient admitted to one of two four‐bed bays with hospital‐duty flotex (Flotex® 200). This carpet was chosen because it has no pile facilitating bacterial build‐up; it also reduces the movement of equipment satisfactorily when the brakes are applied, but still enables easy wheeling of beds, chairs and commodes.
Patients were also allocated to either routine physiotherapy or additional exercises (stratified by flooring type). Outcomes relating to these groups are excluded from the review. |
NUMBER OF FALLERS: obtained from the accident report forms.
NUMBER OF FALLS: obtained from the accident report forms.
INDEPENDENCE: obtained from the Barthel index.
LENGTH OF STAY: not enough data for extraction, no difference reported between groups. |
| Willmott 1986 |
RCT, cross‐over design, 2 conditions. |
DESCRIPTION: 58 elderly hospital patients in England.
NUMBERS: 58 patients (cross‐over)
AGE: mean = 76.05 years old.
GENDER: not described.
ETHNICITY: not described.
INCLUSION CRITERIA: not described.
EXCLUSION CRITERIA: not described. |
CARPETED CORRIDOR: Each patient walked along the corridor towards a staff member standing 15 m ahead. Chalk marks were drawn at an interval of 10 m.
REFLECTIVE VINYL TILED CORRIDOR: Each patient walked along the corridor towards a staff member standing 15 m ahead. Chalk marks were drawn at an interval of 10 m. |
GAIT SPEED and STEP LENGTH: The number of steps taken was counted from the time the patient crossed the first chalk line until the distal line was crossed by the leading forefoot, and elapsed time was measured by a stopwatch.
Patient specific differences not reported. Study reports significant differences on both outcomes in favour of the carpeted floor.
Gait speed (m/s):
Carpet = 0.48 (0.19), Vinyl = 0.40 (0.17)
Step length (cm):
Carpet = 33.72 (12.01), Vinyl = 29.50 (12.32) |
