Program Slows Functional Decline in Older Adults Living at Home

August 30, 2013 | Aging Services Risk Management

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​Preventive home visits and older adult group meetings with a follow-up home visit each significantly reduced dependence in activities of daily living (ADLs) at one-year follow-up, but the group meetings had additional significant effects at two years, according to a study in the August 2013 Gerontologist. The Swedish study enrolled 459 community-dwelling adults age 80 or older who were independent in ADLs at baseline; it included two intervention groups (i.e., preventive home visit, group meetings with follow-up home visit) and one control group. The preventive home visit involved a single visit by an occupational or physical therapist, registered nurse, or social worker. The visit covered topics such as home exercise, falls prevention (including environmental risk assessment), other health and safety issues, assistive devices and housing modifications, and community resources. The group meetings consisted of four weekly group meetings with four to six older adult participants.

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