Major Breakthrough in Effective Fall Prevention for Primary Care Patients (Latest Research)
Falls already represent $67 billion in medical costs each year and are projected to rise to $100 billion by 2030.
About 28% of patients over 65 fall every year
One in five falls require emergency room visits
About 50% of them require hospitalization
Falls are the number one reason for trauma death
From 2007 to 2016, fall death rates in the US increased by 30%. If this rate continues, by 2030 CDC anticipates 7 fall deaths every hour
Source: The CDC Injury Center's response to the growing public health problem of falls among older adults. Am J Lifestyle Med Jan-Feb 2016;10(1):74-77.
This is a serious threat to older adults and an incremental change in methods is insufficient to effectively address fall prevention.
How are your patients?
A NYTimes article recently reported that many health experts are worried about the decrease in physical activity and mobility among senior adults as a result of the pandemic. In a survey conducted by the University of Michigan, about 40% of those over 65 reported a decrease in physical activity since the beginning of the pandemic. It is well documented that a reduction in physical activity results in decreased physical function and leads to falls and fear of falls. This has a negative impact on the physical and mental health of senior adults as falling reduces the ability to lead an independent life and reduces their confidence. While fall risk screening and exercise programs have been in place for nearly 20 years, they have failed to make a meaningful impact on the number of falls in the senior population. The rise cannot be explained simply by the rising number of older adults.
A radical reworking of current approaches is necessary to effectively address the growing physical and cognitive frailty of America’s older adult population.
The hard truth is that current methods of fall screening miss 69-85% of older adults at high risk for falling
There are over 21 categories of risk factors for falls. Up to now, Fall history has been considered the best predictor of falls and forms the basis of recommended clinical guidelines for fall prevention. However, fall history depends on patients reporting falls, and unfortunately, more than 50% of the patients fail to report prior falls to their physicians. Such an approach also fails to prevent the first fall. Imagine if we were still stuck in the same approach for heart attack or stroke.
Transformative Method for Fall Prediction
There has been a quiet breakthrough in a more scientific method to predict falls by quantifying an individual's intrinsic stability control with an objective score. ZIBRIO's Stability Pro Scale provides precise balance and fall risk measurement in 60 seconds which is predictive for up to one year. ZIBRIO technology had its genesis in the US Space program and the Stability scale uses the standing center of pressure sway in the 60 second measurement and applies Artificial Intelligence to distinguish patterns of stability and instability in the user's postural stability control. An easy-to-understand score is then calculated, and the scale provides a balance score from 1–10, stratified into fall risk categories.
Additional software provides physicians and their team with a report of the patient's score, age-related percentile, and personalized recommendations that can be used for consultation with the patient. Successful fall prevention depends on giving the patient actions relevant to them, rather than generic advice, and these tools enable that personalization.
Measuring Fall Risk Works
Adults at an independent living facility in Texas were given access to ZIBRIO technology for free use for 2 years. Participation in measurement was voluntary. Participant's scores, fall history, and frequency of measurement were collected during that timeframe. No intervention other than access to measurement was provided. However, members of the independent facility had access to exercise and balance classes.
At end of two years, a 74% reduction in the number of falls was observed.
Source: Forth KE, Wirfel K, Adams S, Rianon N, Madansingh S. Stratified fall risk facilitates personalized care from a 60 second test. In: AGS 2019 Annual Meeting. ; 2019:51-52.. Forth et al. 2020. Front Med. 7:926
About 43% of participants who were initially categorized as high risk shifted to a lower risk category and it took on an average 34 days for a person to shift categories. By shifting the risk category, senior adults received positive enforcement of the change, which is one of the possible reasons for continued self-monitoring and behavioral change. Having the ability to self-monitor and having access to stability scores empowered senior adults to modify their health behaviors to successfully reduce fall rates.
Personal story
One of the participants, Judy 87, first scored a 2 (high risk for falling). As the score predicted, she fell, but fortunately did not suffer broken bones. Judy was prescribed physical therapy and after just one month she shifted to a medium risk zone with a score of 5. With Judy transitioning to exercises classes she stayed in the medium risk zone for the rest of the year until the Holiday season when the classes were canceled, and her score dropped again. This learning was key: balance reacted positively to exercise, and negatively (just as quickly) to lack of exercise) Judy used her balance score to make lifestyle changes and with her continuing exercises classes the following year, she even shifted to the low-risk zone.
"Measuring my balance has really opened my eyes as to how much my balance changes and how the little things I do every day have such a big impact."
- Judy, 87-year old participant
Cut Through Patient Denial
One of the common challenges in fall prevention care is the patient's denial or underestimation of their own fall risk. Thus, a simple, precise 60-second test with the ZIBRIO Stability scale that provides an objective score and can compare it to the patient age cohort which identifies fall risk and future fall risk trajectory reduces barriers to patient counseling and enables clinicians to provide data-driven fall prevention care with personalized recommendations.
Drive effective fall prevention in your practice by using ZIBRIO’s technology to identify 2 to 4 times more emerging and high risk patients than traditional methods. See what a leading clinical practice learned when they adopted ZIBRIO technology:
Want to learn more how ZIBRIO might help your practice? Schedule a 20 minute personal zoom demo and get all your questions answered: