Falls prevention
This project aimed to develop strategies that reduce falls in older people with cognitive decline and dementia by examining the relationship between falls and cognition, physical function, postural control and gait, and trialling novel fall and disability prevention strategies e.g. exercise delivered using an iPad app.
Approximately 60% of people with dementia each year have falls, which is twice the number of falls experienced by cognitively intact older people. In addition, people with dementia who have falls are more likely to result in injuries such as hip fractures, loss of independence, placement in residential care and death.
Resources
Publications
Taylor, M. E., Butler, A. A., Lord, S. R., Delbaere, K., Kurrle, S. E., Mikolaizak, A. S., & Close, J. C. (2018). Inaccurate judgement of reach is associated with slow reaction time, poor balance, impaired executive function and predicts prospective falls in older people with cognitive impairment. Experimental gerontology, 114, 50-56.
Taylor, M. E., Lord, S. R., Delbaere, K., Wen, W., Jiang, J., Brodaty, H., … & Close, J. C. (2018). White matter hyperintensities are associated with falls in older people with dementia. Brain imaging and behaviour, 1-8.
Taylor, M. E., Boripuntakul, S., Toson, B., Close, J. C., Lord, S. R., Kochan, N. A., … & Delbaere, K. (2018). The role of cognitive function and physical activity in physical decline in older adults across the cognitive spectrum. Aging & Mental Health, 1-9.
Taylor, M. E., Lasschuit, D. A., Lord, S. R., Delbaere, K., Kurrle, S. E., Mikolaizak, A. S., … & Close, J. C. (2017). Slow gait speed is associated with executive function decline in older people with mild to moderate dementia: A one year longitudinal study. Archives of gerontology and geriatrics, 73, 148-153.
Additional publications can be found on our Publications page