The Effect of a Simple Balance Training Program on Fall Prevention in the Elderly Women Hospitalized in Razi Psychiatric Hospital, Tehran

Falls are one of the most frequent and serious problems facing the elderly. It has negative impacts on physical, psychosocial and financial situations of elderly people, and can reduce their quality of life. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of balance exercises on the risk of falling among elderly women with a chronic schizophrenia diagnosis.
In this randomized controlled trial study, 60 elderly women were selected from the Razi Psychiatric Hospital by convenience sampling and assigned into the control and experimental groups (N = 30 for each group). Demographic questionnaire was completed for all the participants. The Timed up and Go (TUG) test was used to measure the risk of falling before and after the intervention. The intervention group attended a 12-week training program. The sessions were conducted three times per week (30 minutes each session) by supervision of an occupational therapist and researcher. The control group did not receive any intervention. Data were analyzed using independent and paired t tests with the SPSS 19 software.
Results showed that a 12-week simple balance training program increased balance ability and reduced the falling risk significantly among the elderly women (P 0.05). However, the results showed significant improvement in completing the TUG test in the intervention group compared with the control group (P It can be concluded that using simple balance exercises can result in reduction of the falling risk among elderly women. Considering the low cost and simplicity of the intervention, it is suggested to use this training along with other appropriate interventions to reduce the falling risk among elderly people.