Home based, tailored intervention to reduce rate of falls after stroke (FAST): randomised trial - PubMed

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Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary, home-based, tailored intervention to reduce falls after stroke.
Design: Two-armed, randomised trial conducted in three states in Australia.
Participants: People within 5 years of stroke, aged >50 years, discharged from formal rehabilitation to the community, and able to walk 10 m across flat ground with or without an aid.
Intervention: Experimental group received a habit-forming functional exercise, home fall hazard reduction, and goal-directed community mobility coaching over 6 months; control group received usual care.
Primary Outcome: Rate of falls over 12 months.
Secondary Outcomes: Proportion of participants having a fall, community participation, self-efficacy, balance, mobility, physical activity, activities of daily living, depression, and health-related quality of life.
Results: Significant reduction in the rate of falls (33%) in the experimental group compared to the control group.
Conclusion: Tailored intervention prevented falls in community-dwelling, ambulatory people with stroke, with improvements in self-efficacy, mobility, community participation, and balance.

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