Original title: A cognitive-behavioral and exercise intervention to reduce fear of falling in older adults in assisted living facilities: a pilot study
Fear of falling can make older adults less willing to move around. AGES combines group discussions based on cognitive behavioral therapy with exercise, in eight weekly sessions. In a small pilot across three assisted living facilities, all 19 participants stayed in the study, and most completed the outcome measures. Some walking measurements were spoiled by interference from walking aids. The results show that the program could be run, not that it works.
Imagine learning a new routine for carrying groceries while trying not to trip. It is hard to tell whether the routine helps if some people cannot finish the check you use to measure their walking. In this paper, the routine is the weekly therapy and exercise sessions, and the difficult check is measuring walking when walking aids interfere with the equipment.
Fear of falling can limit older adults’ mobility and well-being. This pilot found that a combined therapy and exercise program could be delivered in three assisted living facilities, while also showing what must change before a larger trial—especially how gait is measured for people using walking aids.
This small, single-arm pilot does not establish that AGES reduces fear of falling or improves well-being or mobility. The clinical changes are descriptive, not evidence of effectiveness. Protocol adherence was reported by course leaders but not independently checked, acceptability was not directly assessed, and walking-aid interference limited usable LiDAR data. The findings concern feasibility in three facilities and do not establish results elsewhere.
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A cognitive-behavioral and exercise intervention to reduce fear of falling in older adults in assisted living facilities: a pilot study — Eric Lenouvel, Andreas Biedermann, Lena C. Bruhin et al. — Pilot and Feasibility Studies — doi:10.1186/s40814-026-01929-0
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.